Pumpkin Town
by Atrophy-Conception
Summary: This is a predeath story. A small and awkward boy moves to the mysterious town of Kingston Where he must over come the mischievous residents and unravel the mystery of the previous owners unsettling demise. There is a larger summary in the Author's Note
1. Authors Note: PLEASE READ

Authors Note: PLEASE READ!

Due to a lot of errors in which I contradicted myself in my own story, I have read all twenty five chapters and have made slight changes to all that will make the story completely plausible.

If you have been reading the story and happen to catch something in recent chapters that is a bit off, I would ask you to read through previous chapters, for it may have changed due to my progressive idea's regarding the outcome of this story.

For the most part it's stayed the same, and unless certain instances are really bothering you,I don't suggest reading previous chapters over.

I have two new chapters up, Chapter 24 and 25, that I re-posted after fixing them.

Hehe, I cannot tell you how boring it is reading through my own story, but I'm pleased that I did it. I hope you enjoy the outcome.

I love you all! Thanx.

-Atrophy Conception

Lengthened Summary of Pumpkin Town:

At one point in time, Pumpkin Town was the sort of place that one might consider extraordinary. That was before. Before the owner, an eccentric and mysterious man died in his attic on Halloween night, and the rest of his family followed, one by one, until all had perished or vanished without a trace, before it was purchased by an overly docile man with a psychotic edge and a desire to destroy all it once had been, and before the people, over time, lost the will to hold on to what they once encompassed.

Now the town of Kingston, it has fallen victim to a wretched sense of normalcy, where, even if they're not willing to admit it, most of the people have lost their old spirit…or so it seems.

Gregory Garret is new in town and already he's decided he dislikes it very much. This of course, can only be expected after he's lost his parents and has been forced to leave his old home by his aunt, who has decided a change of scenery will be good for him. This is a thing Gregory himself seriously doubts; especially after he finds himself in the company of two of the worst bullies he's ever had the misfortune of meeting…and then finds that their just the beginning.

Indeed, Kingston has a lot more to offer the first meets the eye, and Gregory finds himself having to entangle something that goes far beyond the ordinary conflicts of his seemingly luckless life.

It's the thirteenth anniversary of Hector Skellingtons death. Anything can happen.


	2. Arriving In Kingston

Alright, this is very different from what I usually do. For one thing, it revolves mostly around characters that I like, but who aren't my favorite, or even second favorite in the movie. Secondly, I'm exploring some of my own creativity by making this a pre- death pre- Halloween Town story. It revolves around the lives of at least four characters from the movie. There may be more later on, if I see a good place to add them in. I won't give out their names right away, but I'm guessing it'll be pretty easy to determine who they are.

Pumpkin Town

Chapter One:

Arriving In Kingston

_There are some places in the world that have very strange and unusual things about them. Things that people cannot explain, and eventually just accept as part of their reality. These are the things that are passed about the town in the late hours of the night or early hours of the morning around a campfire, or in a dark bedroom while the speaker holds a flashlight to their face, illuminating their lips and nose and that place between the eye's, making them look unnatural and unreal. These are the stories that are eventually turned into legends, and the legends that eventually turn into myths. No one knows exactly how they start, they just do. They develop over night and make a place and the people who live there and the stories behind them amazing. _

_The town of Kingston had been that sort of place. Once upon a time, it had been known for it's legend and myth, and a whole bunch of other strange sorts of things that made a passerby want to visit the town just to see whether or not it was true. Or whether or not such a place could make the earth change beneath their feet, and the air change as they breathed it upon their lips, or whether or not such a town could make a man feel amazing…if only for just the few moments they stood within it's boundaries. The town of Kingston had been a very intriguing place. But that had been before it was called Kingston. That had been back when it was called Pumpkin Town. _

Gregory didn't know anything about that the day he moved in. Nor would he have cared if he had. He was too busy being miserable to care about anything.

Gregory was miserable for several reasons, all justified in their own way, though some being more understandable then the others. The first, and quite possibly the most understandable was that his parents had just passed two weeks before, and he was now living with his widowed Aunt who always seamed to get him just the right clothes to make him look more like a loser then he already did, and say just the right things to embarrass him, and who always seamed to believe he was just a few years younger then he actually was. His second reason was that by moving into a new town it meant he'd have to face a new school year at a different school where he would make few friends if any and have to face new bullies. At least at the school he had been in, he had had an arrangement with some of the old ones. (Being that as long as he paid them they wouldn't beat the crap out of him.) And the third being that he would have to get used to new surroundings and a new house and new neighbors, when he had liked the old ones just fine.

Gregory sighed and watched his feet as he kicked them beneath the car seat, while occasionally looking out his window, which he could only just reach, being rather short for his age. His Aunt sat in the front of the car, her beloved Apathy in her lap, (Apathy being a Siamese cat that hated Gregory and wasted no time in hissing and scratching at him. ) while humming to herself.

As they entered the town Gregory peered out the window, catching a glimpse of the welcome sign. He felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he did. The sign was covered in graffiti, which only meant that the town was probably full of the sort of kids who seamed to have a passion for beating other kids like him up.

As he examined the sign more closely, he found some things written on it that made him feel even more uneasy then he had before. The town was called Kingston. Like other welcome signs the name was slightly faded and obviously of some age. Most of the graffiti on the sign was of the regular sort, declarations of love and who was hot, capitalized profanities, and crude drawings. But some of it didn't sit well with Gregory. Some of which being sentences that read things like 'Down with King.' 'Down with Kingston.' 'Bring back Hector.' 'King is a grave robber.' And many more of that nature. The other thing, and quite possibly the most strange thing written upon the sign, was two words written over and over in all sorts of different scrawls; These being the words Pumpkin Town.

Great, just perfect. Gregory was thinking to himself. Because of his Aunt he had to move to Psycho Ville. He slumped back down into his seat, looking towards the front of the car where his aunt was switching through radio stations.

"Why do we have to move here, Anne?" He whined to his aunt, getting a rather nasty growl from Apathy.

"Dear, I told you to call me Aunt Anne, just calling me Anne makes me feel like your disrespecting me, I am your guardian now you know…" Anne said, while pulling her hand back from the knob on the radio.

"I know, I know…just my luck." The last he said very quietly so as not to be heard.

"…And I've told you why a hundred times now, a change of scenery will be good for you. I swear for a boy who's been top of his class since he was eight you'd think your memory would be a bit better." She gasped as she nearly ran off the road. "Stop talking to me now Gregory, you'll make me crash."

Gregory sat back in his seat with another sigh, wondering how his aunt could say that he could make her crash when her cat, who constantly sat up on it's hind legs and put it's paws against her chest and chin, seamed to be no distraction to her at all.

"I liked the old town just fine." He said softly, not really meaning to be heard.

"What was that dear, speak up, you're a boy, not a girl, you should work on your volume. I swear, your father was the same way, always spoke in such a girly voice, Heather had him wrapped around her fingers, yes she did." His aunt went on like that for a while. Gregory groaned silently to himself and stuffed his face into his chubby hands. Suddenly his aunt stopped short of what she had been saying.

"Ugh! Look at those two kids over there, trouble makers if I ever saw them. Those kids are exactly the sort I want you staying away from." Gregory looked up from his hands and looked out the window curiously, wondering what sort of kids his aunt was talking about.

Standing on the sidewalk just inside of town, he saw two kids who could've been his age, or could have been older. It was hard to tell because he didn't really look his age. There was a boy and a girl, and given the similarities between the two of them he thought they might be brother and sister. They were both tall and thin and probably would have had the same hair color if the boys wasn't so obviously died a bright blood red, and the girls wasn't mostly hidden beneath a striped knit cap.

As he looked at them, they both turned and met his gaze. He almost pulled away, surprised at being caught staring at them, instead he smiled…which he decided immediately had been a bad idea. The two kids looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Gregory pulled back from the window feeling hurt and embarrassed. As he did he saw his round face reflected in the glass. He kept his head lowered after that, avoiding looking out the window for the rest of their trip into town.

When they finally stopped, and Gregory was able to get out of the car and stretch his legs he saw that the town, despite his early views of it, didn't look quite as bad as he expected.

"It's a beauty isn't it. Good old fashioned small town. Not like those cities you get these days, no sir." His aunt was saying.

"Sure is!" A pleasant voice came behind them. "Best there ever was!" He turned to see who the origin of the voice belonged to. Down at the end of their driveway stood a man carrying a what appeared to be a tire, at his feet sat two others, brand new by the look of them. The minute Gregory saw him he began to progress towards them. He had a funny sort of prissy walk which matched his appearance perfectly. He looked like the sort of man who got bossed around a lot; by his boss, by his colleagues, probably even by his wife.

"I'm Jeff, Jeffery King that is. This is my town." He said. Gregory gave him a funny look. He hadn't really expected the owner of the town to be this tiny man, who's hair was thinning and who was getting pre mature wrinkles on his forehead and eyes. Jeff must have sensed Gregory's reaction because the minute he looked at his face his smile faded a little.

"I know I'm uh, not exactly what people expect from someone who owns a town, hear it all the time, but it is in fact mine, bought it ten years ago. I have the deed hung up on my wall." He gave Gregory another look, making him feel really awkward. The look suggested the man was a little wary of him. How this could be, Gregory had no idea.

His aunt seamed un aware of this.

"Oh, no, you look like just the sort of nice man to run such a lovely town. I respect a man who has money but doesn't show it off." Jeff smiled at her. Gregory decided he didn't like him much. He seamed like a terrible coward.

"What are the tires for." He asked, trying to get the man to stop looking at him so funny. The man looked down at the tire he was holding as though he had forgotten he had it.

"Greg, don't be nosy." His aunt said. Jeff flashed her another of his dopey smiles.

"No, it's alright. See some of the…uh…more colorful youths of this town like to um…play a game with me, they take my tires…or umm…let the air out…and…I'm just putting these back on my car…for…next time you know…good fun." He said this with a bit of laughter that sounded strange and humorless.

"They slash your tires?" Gregory asked, getting a sharp look from Anne.

"Slash? Oh! No! It's all in fun…" The man trailed off and looked away uncomfortably.

There was a long moment of silence. In the distance a cars engine could be heard.

"Well I think this town is very lucky to have such a kind man running it. Some men would take such jokes…none too lightly."

Gregory's aunt was fixing him with a very stern look, which he could just see from the corner of his eye, but Gregory barely noticed. He was too busy watching a car as it traveled past their house, and made its way down the street. It was the coolest car he had ever seen, being extremely vintage. Gregory loved old cars. It was beautiful, and was extremely large and colored an unearthly black, he grinned to himself.

"Gregory! Don't stare off like that, it makes you look horribly idiotic." His aunt said. Gregory ignored her.

"Who's car is that?" He asked Jeff, who tossed a jerky and panicky look over his shoulder.

"That car? I don't know. Nice though isn't it. Comes around here a lot. Stops in front of the old house down at the end of the road. I think the owner comes by to check on it every once in a while just to make sure it's still standing." Gregory lost sight of the car as it turned left at the end of the street, and looked back at Jeff.

"This is your town isn't it?" He asked, giving the man a curious look.

"Yes." The man said, looking cautious.

"Shouldn't you know who lives here?" He said. Jeff looked suddenly very stressed out.

"Yes…but that's Hectors old place and…the person who owns it now refuses to give me their name. Right on the border you know…so it's legal." Anne regarded Jeff with some interest.

"Who is Hector?" She asked. If she hadn't have asked, Gregory probably would have. He had seen that name on the sign coming in. Jeff looked suddenly very uncomfortable.

"He...umm…owned the place before me." Jeff said, as he began to absently rub his partially balding head.

"Before he sold it to you?" Anne asked, while picking up Apathy and stroking her fir.

"Umm…no…Hector never sold me the place…he uh…passed away eleven years ago."

Gregory raised his brow. He knew a lot of things that a boy his age probably shouldn't…according to other boys his age. One of these things he knew about, at least to a degree was the law.

"How did you come upon it? Didn't he have a will?" Gregory asked curiously. Jeff tittered uneasily.

"Smart boy…he did as a matter of fact…" Gregory was lightly aware of his Aunts heavy glare on the back of his neck."

"He left this town to his son, and then after that to his grandson, they were the only family he had. Anyone in town can tell you the story…but I suppose getting the facts from me is the wiser move…they like to…how do you say…exaggerate things a little."

"Where's his son?"

"Dead. He died a few weeks after his father...or so I've heard."

"And his grandson?"

" They searched for him for a while…never actually found him...but...apparently found some sort of evidence to prove that he, too, was dead.After that, they sold it. I bought it at a good price actually." Gregory's aunt took her eyes off of him and directed them back to Jeff King.

"Well Mr. King, it's been a pleasure to meet you…but we really need to unpack." Jeff smiled while picking up the tires he had laid on the ground.

"Of course you do. It was a pleasure meeting you Mrs.…"

"_Ms_. Garret. It was a pleasure to meet you too." Jeff bowed awkwardly and left, looking very lopsided while carrying three tires in his gangly arms.

When he was gone Anne looked sharply at Gregory.

"What was the meaning of that?"

"Of what?" Gregory asked, giving his aunt a bewildered look.

"Couldn't you see you were making that poor man uncomfortable." Before he could a voice behind Gregory answered for him.

"Ah…by now he's plenty used to it." Both his aunt and Gregory turned to see who was speaking. Gregory was surprised an a little dispirited to see the two kids that he had seen when they entered the town walking across their neighbors yard.

"Yea. Poor guy has to take crap from all kinds of hooligans." The boy said, giving Gregory's aunt a look that was pathetically innocent.

"Run along now. I don't want Gregory dilly dallying with the likes of you." Anne said, making a shooing gesture to the two kids, who were giving her a very odd look. They shared a look with each other, then the false innocence was back, along with matching grins so ridiculously sweet they made Gregory feel stupid just looking at them.

"The likes of us, why madam, we're Kingston's own welcome wagon." The boy said, gesturing with his hands fancily.

"Oh yes, we welcome in everyone new to the town." The girl said.

"Mr. King encourages it." The boy added quickly. Anne looked at the two kids suspiciously. Gregory thought he was probably wearing a similar look. Usually when kids like these two acted as they were it was just to suck up to grown ups until they left them alone with him. Where, at this point they would do something real friendly…like turning him upside down and emptying the contents of his pockets and then giving him a lovely matching set of black eye's.

"Welcome wagon huh?" Anne said, seeming to consider this. "Well, I'm going to be busy for most of the day. I suppose you can go if you want Gregory." Gregory turned his head towards her quickly, screaming inwardly. 'DON'T FALL FOR IT' Outwardly he tried to sound as though he were just too busy for this sort of thing.

"No...I don't think so. I've got a lot of stuff to do and…"

"Oh Greg…just go. I'll take care of your little scholarly stuff and you can get your personal stuff later, like your stuffed animals and your dolls and stuff."

Gregory felt like screaming. At the mention of his 'personal stuff' he had seen the two kids exchange amused looks that he didn't much care for. He was also vaguely aware that he was blushing…which really dismayed him.

"I'd really just like to stay here…if it's all the same." He said…his voice small, and to his horror, starting to sound very similar to that of Mr. King's.

"Greg, your never going to make friends if you stay here, now go see the town. If you see it, maybe you'll like it a little better. Go meet people."

"But Anne…"

"Go Gregory, and it's Aunt Anne. I'll be having no disrespect from you…even in front of your new friends" Gregory sighed. He hadn't wanted to be home so much as he did now. He would have given almost anything to be back in his old room on his computer, or playing video games, or just lying around watching TV, where he wasn't expected to go out and 'meet people.' Besides, he had really hoped he could have at least waited until school started before the beatings did. And here he had only been in town for fifteen minutes.

'Just my luck.' He thought, while walking slowly towards the two children, who watched his progression with a matching look on their faces that was really starting to worry him.

As he neared the girl spoke to him quietly.

"Why so slow…Gregory…you'd think you were going to your own funeral." She grinned at him in a way he could only describe as purely wicked.

His aunt, who, deep in the back of his mind, he wished would realize what was going on before he left with these two obvious pretenders smiled broadly.

"Have fun Gregory." She said, before turning and going into the house, leaving him alone with the two children, who passed another of those grins amongst themselves before bursting out in gales of laughter.

Tell me if this sounded bad ok. I don't mind a little criticism. I was reading it back to myself and wasn't sure if I really liked it or not.


	3. In The Depths Of Skeleton Lake

Ok, Chapter Two is finished. I hope to get Chapter Three done soon. In the meantime I would appreciate feedback. Insults and criticism is encouraged.

Enjoy.

Chapter Two:

In The Depths Of Skeleton Lake.

Gregory was standing aside, watching the two kids in a suspicious manner. They were talking quietly to themselves, both wore matching grins that made Gregory nervous.

After a while they broke their conversation and walked towards him. As they got near, he recoiled.

"You know…" He started. "I think I have more I need to do then I thought….maybe I can wait and see the town later." Gregory said cautiously…knowing that such an argument would not work…but thought it did not hurt to try. He started to back up as he said it.

The two kids looked at each other, and their grins widened…if that was even possible.

"Nonsense." The boy said, and to Gregory's horror they each got on either side of him and picked him by his upper arms. They began walking down the street in this manner.

"We said we'd give you a tour of the town and we will." The boy continued, his voice filled with cruel amusement.

"Yeah, we always keep our word." They exchanged a look Gregory couldn't see before turning the corner. Gregory began to get a little miffed. He could already tell he wasn't going to like this place.

"Let me down!" He said, while shaking free of their grip. Right after he got free they grabbed him again and shoved him forward.

"Now now now…no need to get upset. Is that any way to treat a friendly neighbor trying to welcome you into town?" The boy said, feigning innocence. The girl giggled. Gregory felt a dropping feeling in his stomach. He really wanted to go back home…his old home…back where he had lived but twenty hours before.

"Hey, Violet, why don't we show him the lake by the old Pumpkin House. I'll bet he'd really like that." The boy said to the girl…who it could only be assumed was named Violet.

Violet nodded and fixed Gregory with a wicked look. Gregory's lips tightened as he could only imagine what seeing the lake may result to. A few things came to mind.

"That'll be our first stop, we'll make sure you get a real good look." The girl said while giving him a shove. As they pulled forward Gregory's struggle was interrupted.

"Well, I see you guys can't make friends with anyone without forcing them to be near you." Someone said behind them. Gregory saw the boy's face change out of the corner of his eye. He let Gregory go, leaving him to be held only by his sister and turned towards the direction the voice was coming from.

"We told you already Justin, your not allowed to come within thirty feet of us or we'll take it upon ourselves to curse your soul and fill your pathetic life with misery and woe. Don't you ever listen." Gregory managed to turn in the girls grip, which was still plenty strong enough even with the absence of her brother. He saw a small thin boy with neatly combed back hair, wearing the sort of clothes that kids wore in a private school. He looked very tiny and wimpy next to the bigger boy with the bright red hair.

"You let out my dads tires again Edward. I'm sick of being late to school because of you…I had to take the bus." The boys face grew ugly with anger and obvious hatred.

"Aww…poor little Justy wusty. Had to take the bus with all of the nasty little kids. Just because your dorky father owns the town doesn't make you better then us you know." Edward said, for a moment his mocking face was changed into something that looked almost human…then that was gone. Violet shifted beside Gregory.

"In fact Justin, by all rights we hate you a lot more then anyone else in town." She said. The small boy appeared to have ignored her.

"I'm warning you two to stay away from our house. I have friends in high places. I'll see to it that your so beat up so bad that you can't walk for weeks." Justin said, his voice taking on a dangerous and snooty quality that could only be achieved by kids who did in fact think they were better then everyone else. Edward snorted with laughter.

"Pretty big talk for someone who gets their shoes stolen and their homework shredded and their house egged every weak."

"Yeah, and we wont even mention the all of the times you've been shoved in your locker and had your personal stuff hung in high places where everyone can see them."

"Places you can't reach." Edward and Violet exchanged looks and burst out laughing again. Justin looked as though his head were about to explode. Gregory, being used to getting bullied pitied him a little. He also had a mind to mentally warn the boy about appearing too angry, or emotional…it only delighted bullies. He watched the boy , fascinated as his face turned a bright shade of red.

"The only reason those things happen to me is because of you guys." He said though gritted teeth.

"Aw come on, we cant take all of the credit." Edward said.

"Yea, don't be so modest Justin…almost everyone in town hates you." Violet said.

Justin blew up. Or rather his face got another shade brighter and then he rushed stupidly towards Edward who looked surprised for a moment. He ran into him, flailing his arms and hitting Edward with only one lucky shot. After a moment Edward's momentary alarm faded and he struck back, sending the boy crashing to the ground.

Edward wiped at his mouth, which was bleeding but a little.

"That was a mistake King. Violet, I think we should take Justin with our new friend. I'd bet in all his time in this town he's never been over to Skeleton Lake." Justin seamed to regain himself.

"It's King Lake now you putrid piece of scummy rubbish." The thin boy yelled.

Edward pulled Justin up to his feet from his collar. Justin had regained some of his fiery look returning, and his eyes filling once more with rage…this didn't last as Edward began dragging him in the direction that they had been going ing. Where this exactly led to, Gregory was still not sure.

Suddenly, Justin's look filled with a strange terror.

"We're not actually going down there!" Justin yelled, his voice now sounding rather womanish.

"that's what we said Justy, I'm telling ya, you really need to pay attention more often." Edward said pleasantly, ignoring the cut in his lip, which thanks to the heat had begun to bleed a little over his pointed chin.

Gregory was now quite sure what was about to happen. As this realization dawned on him he began to struggle lightly. Violets grip on him only increased.

"Be patient now Gregory, we'll be there soon enough…show some self control." Violet said with a bitter note of laughter. Justin had begun struggling desperately. Gregory thought it was sort of odd how the boy was suddenly filled with panic.

"We can't go down there…are you freaks mad! WE CAN'T ACTUALLY GO DOWN THERE!" Justin's voice had taken on a shrill quality. It made Gregory's head hurt.

"LET GO! HELP! HELLLLLP!"

As this last scream rang in his ears Gregory decided he couldn't take it anymore. He was already sure that an unpleasant surprise was waiting for him at the end of this lovely stroll. Justin's panicked state was not helping.

"Will you shut up!" He yelled, surprising the boy out of his fit. Justin looked at him as though he hadn't known he had been there the whole time. Violet laughed a little.

"You have no right to tell me to shut up!" Justin screamed, his eyes still moving wildly ahead of him.

"What do you know Justin, you don't even get respect from people who are as dorky as you are." Edward said. "We're almost there. Stop struggling." Justin made an attempt to duck out of Edwards grip, but only managed to get out half way before Edward grabbed him roughly around the neck.

"Ack! You'll pay for this Wayward! You'll be so sorry!"

"What are you going to do, run to your daddy?" Edward mocked.

"A lot of good that'll do you…we could beat him up too." Violet added with a harsh laugh.

They neared the place where the old car Gregory had seen earlier turned, and from a good twenty feet away he could see an ancient looking wooden bridge. Across it's surface, boards and splinters stuck out randomly, making it the sort of place Gregory wouldn't cross even on a dare. The water below looked dark and murky, there was a mist rising from it, that made Gregory think of the old fashioned horror movies where cheesy looking swamp monsters jumped out at unsuspecting travelers and pulled them into it's lonely deep. Now he joined Justin in a harsher struggle.

For a moment he thought he had managed to escape the girls grip. She was in the middle of saying something and had not been paying much attention to him.

"There's an interesting story that goes along with Skeleton Lake…they say if you get caught in it's depths, the spirits of the dead come from the deep and-" She gasped in surprise as Gregory slipped under her arms, he started to make a run for it, but Violet lunged out and hit him hard in the back. He fell to the ground and once again felt two small but oddly strong hands grab his upper arms.

"Nice try Greg, almost got away, I was worried for a second. Come on now, wouldn't want to deprive the spirits of fresh meat." They got to the bridge, and with a few nudges from the two kids, who Gregory decided were twice as worse as most of the bullies who had tormented him throughout the years they reached the center. Gregory was vaguely aware of a sharp pain in his palm where he had been grasping the side of the bridge.

"Any last words?" Edward asked while dipping Justin over the side, who was throwing a fit. Gregory gritted his teeth, now struggling as hard as he could. He hated water, he had always made a lousy swimmer. When his father had tried to teach him how he had only managed to get as far as a dog paddle before his dad finally decided to give up. Whenever he went to the pool with other kids he avoided the deep end…mostly to avoid further torment from his peers.

"No? Well then have a nice swim." Gregory closed his eyes and waited for miserable feeling of the cold water stealing his breath from him. When it didn't come he opened his eyes and blinked in confusion. Because he couldn't see Violet, who was directly behind him, he looked sideways towards Edward.

The boy was staring upward with wide eyes. His eyes looked wary, which Gregory found did not suit his wicked and laughing countenance. Gregory followed his gaze to a large house that towered over the bridge like a great black crow marking the dead. Gregory looked about to see what the boy was so frightened of but couldn't find anything. All he could see was the giant domicile standing at the end of town like a great eyesore.

He started to look back at the boy but his eyes flashed back to the house as a window lit up. There were tons of windows across the face of the giant manor marking the many rooms that must have filled it from top to bottom. Gregory watched in amazement as all of the windows lit up one after another, as though they were timed to do so automatically, though Gregory had never heard of such a thing. He wondered vaguely how anyone could get to all of those windows quick enough to turn them all on so quickly. He didn't think anyone could.

"Cripes Edward." Violet said, her voice slightly breathless.

"Let's get out of here." Edward said, his voice quite a bit more calm then the look plastered on his face. Gregory rose his brow, examining the windows, they were all lit now. He felt a shudder go up his spine. Beside him Justin was crying. Violet, who had let Gregory go met his gaze for a moment, before turning towards her brother.

"Come on Edward!" Edward nodded, he looked quickly at Justin, who was still in his clutches, before, to Gregory's astonishment, pushing him over the side of the bridge. Violet turned and started running back across the wooded surface of the viaduct, not paying Gregory a second thought. Just as he thought he might get off the hook, Edward ran towards him. Gregory tried to dodge him and avoid the dark water. He didn't manage it. He felt a hard shove against his chest and soon the cool air around him became icy water waking up all of his senses, and pushing against him painfully. Through the haze he could see the boys dark shadow retreating.

After a confused moment he began to struggle to get to the surface.

At one point, although the experience would be repressed by him quite desperately he could have sworn he felt something grabbing at his leg. This struck a momentary panic in his breast before whatever it was fell away and he was able to break through the veil of water into the depleting light of dusk. He gasped for air and struggled his way towards land.

Gregory heard a choking sound beside him as someone grabbed at his shirt. Yelling he turned and whacked whoever it had been only to find he had struck the other boy hard in the face. The boy fell away yelping in pain. Gregory reached the rock and dying greenery beside the bridge and pulled himself out of the water.

He looked back to see where Justin was. He was struggling a few feet away from him holding the place where Gregory had hit him and screaming loudly.

"Ow! You broke my nose your dense skin head!" The boy yelled. Gregory, although very annoyed by the harsh shrieking, of which he wouldn't have thought possible from such a small boy grasped for him and pulled him out with a grunt. The boy struggled a little more before realizing he wasn't in the water anymore.

Gregory took a deep breath of the fresh evening air, letting it out in a relieved sigh. He was freezing, but he had gotten out of the lake, and that was really all that mattered. A light fell on his face, sending a sharp pain through his eyes and causing him to turn away and close them.

"Who's down there?" A deep voice called from up the rocky hill that led down to the two boys, who stared up at the sound of the voice. Gregory squinted trying to make out the large shadow looming over them.

"Stop shining your flashlight on them Frank, I'm sure the headlights are bright enough for them to see."

"I'm not trying to let them see us…I'm trying to see them. I don't want to attract those awful Wayward kids." The man responded. Gregory heard an impatient sound from the woman, and the man lowered the flashlight.

"Who's down there?" The woman cried. Gregory was roughly shoved aside as Justin struggled his way to stand in front of him.

"I order you to get me out of here right THIS INSTANT!" The boy screamed. Gregory flinched and covered his ears.

"Justin King? Is that you? What are you doing out here?" The woman asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Just get me out!"

The larger of the two shadows began down the hill, as the figure got closer Gregory could see it was a man of considerable girth. He had a small mustache, and wide suspicious eyes. He saw Justin and looked him up and down, as though making sure it was him. His eyes then fell on Greg. They narrowed.

"I aint never seen you before. Who are you and what are you doing down here with Jeff King's son?"

Before Gregory could answer the woman shouted down at them.

"Oh stop it Frank, they look frozen and scared to death, just get them up here." Frank gave them a sharp look then grabbed there shoulders and began up the hill.

"Come on then, we'll get this sorted out when we reach the top." He said. As they came up over the small hill Gregory saw the woman more clearly. She about matched the mans girth, but looked far less severe. Although her eyes had a stern look about them.

"Hello Justin." She said as the smaller boy reached the top and pulled away from the man.

"I want to go home, take me home now!" The boy said rudely. Gregory felt the mans grip leave him. The woman smiled at Justin despite his outburst.

"Of course dear." She said. Her eyes fell on Gregory. She looked at him for a moment, as though she were trying to place a face or solve a puzzle.

"You're new in town aren't you? You just moved in to the old McGovern place?"

Gregory, who had no idea who the place belonged to before they moved in nodded anyway. The woman smiled.

"I think I know what happened. Come along, let's get you kids home."

Gregory said a quick thanks. Beside him Justin said something under his breath that Gregory just barely caught. It sounded like ' About time.' Justin followed the woman, who was walking at a quick pace.

Gregory stood where he was for a moment, and cast a brief look behind him, towards the manor which shadow seamed to fall everywhere, swallowing up everything in its path. It was dark again, showing no sign of ever being lit.

"Say it's haunted you know. Filled with the spirit of Hector Skellington. He used to own this town. Before he disappeared." Frank said, his voice taking on that morbid quality of story tellers spinning a yarn of catastrophe and misfortune.

Gregory looked up at the man curiously.

"Skellington?" He asked softly, finding this last name quite unfortunate…and once again wondering what sort of town he had just moved into.

"Yup, all gone now. All of them. Hectors dead, his sons dead, his grandsons vanished without a trace. The house is owned by some big shot now who goes off on business trips constantly and only returns to make sure it hasn't fallen into disrepair. Doesn't even talk to the rest of town, and definitely doesn't belong here. Thinks he's too good for us I imagine. Even King is more of a town member then he is. And King is just about as opposite of the rest of us as anyone could be. Turns my blood warm." As he said this an alarming and fiery look lit up his face. For a moment, with the shadow of dusk falling upon them, the darkness made the man look as though he were wearing a mask. Gregory felt an unsettling feeling fall over him. As though he were talking to someone else. Someone who was only pretending to be the man he had just met.

Frank continued, turning his face and breaking the illusion. "

Hector would have hated it, hated that such a whining pipsqueak got his town instead of his family, hated that some square big shot got his house, hated it all. I hate it all." Frank came out of an angry daze and then upon seeing Gregory's face, which was that of genuine fear, softened a bit..

"But," He started. "Nothing we can do about it now. Come on, lets get you back to your house and make sure your parents know not to let you go out and mess around with Edward and Violet Wayward again. I imagine that is what happened. I don't need to be told I'm right, just move along." Gregory nodded and began to follow the man, casting one more brief look at the dark house, as he did he heard the mans words echo across his mind, like fleeting feet falling away into a pool of darkness.

'All dead. 'Haunted.' 'Vanished without a trace.'

"Skellington.'

Gregory shivered as the last of the sun fell away beneath the horizon, giving way to the world of shadows.

Hmmm I hope I didn't give Hectors last name away too soon. I was planning to sort of leave that out till much later in the story. Oh well. It's done. I imagine by now anyone reading this has a good idea of who everyone is. Thank you for reading this story. I would like to say again that it is a bit different from my others so if I get off track or start writing real badly I'd appreciate it if you criticize me (As harshly as desired.) To get me back on track.

Thanks again for the feedback.


	4. Plans Made In The Night

Chapter Three

Plans Made In The Night

When Violet and Edward reached the turn where the houses were lit up they stopped. Edward leaned against a stop sign panting for breath, then looked up at his sister. After a while they started laughing.

"You were so scared!" Edward said while giving her a shove.

"I was scared? What about you" She put her hand to her forehead in a dramatic pose. "Let's get out of here!" Her voice sound especially girly as she said this. "You looked like you we're about to shriek like a little girl." She returned his shove.

"Hey at least I had enough mind to shove Gregory and Justin off of the Bridge. You were in such a hurry you almost let him go." He said, shoving a little more roughly this time. Violet gave him a funny look then pushed Edward almost causing him to lose his footing.

"Oh yea, well at least I didn't get cuffed by Justin King. Your lip is still bleeding by the way." Edward shrugged and wiped his lip.

"He just caught me off guard." Edward said, giving Violet a dirty look.

Violet ignored it. She looked up the street as a street lamp went on.

"Carolyn will be expecting us home." She said, referring to their mother who they had been calling by her first name since their father had died three years before.

"Aww come on Shock, we're so close to giving her an ulcer as it is, a few more hours couldn't hurt. Let's see how long it takes her till she calls the cops or something." Edward said, calling his sister by her nickname. They rarely ever referred to each other as anything but this when they were by themselves. It was a stupid thing they had started when they were little, and hadn't ever really gotten out of the habit of.

Violet gave him a bitter look.

"If she calls the cops on us it won't be to find us and bring us home safely. Come on." She grabbed Edward by his collar and started walking in the direction of their house.

"Aww but we haven't even made mail box quota today!" Edward whined. He struggled to get loose of her fingers and got rather frustrated when he found he couldn't.

"Please Lock, don't even try. You haven't been able to over power me since we were four." She said, a wicked smile playing on her lips. Edward struggled a little longer, determined to prove her wrong, but after a while just gave up. The last of the street lamps were on before the two children reached home.

The last streetlamp to light up in town was that of the King household. The only reason for this was that the King's street lamp had been so badly battered since the King family had moved in that it could barely tell what was dark and what wasn't. The sky was black before the cool yellowish orb lit up, looking quite solitary amongst the others which burned brighter and had been on for a good hour.

On the other side of town, at the place where Gregory and Justin where heading away from stood a lovely street lamp that rested at the foot of the Pumpkin House and upon first glance looked quite old fashioned. It was the sort that still was illuminated with a candle protected by the glass door, which did not keep the oxygen out like the others. This lamp was just one of the many things that kept the myths and legends of the odd house alive and thriving.

Although by all rights it should have been entirely manual, it was always the first street lamp in town to go on.

Right when dusk hit, and the last of the sunsets colors filled the sky in dark purples and lovely shades of midnight blue did the candle within the little glass box start to burn. It always did this, even when there was no one home, and Kingston's 'big shot' as they liked to call the owner was not on one of his monthly….or sometimes yearly visits. Some of the towns people had once been very curious how or when this started. Because though the candle had always been old fashioned, when Hector was alive it had been manually lit. Back then Hector himself was seen every night as it just started to get dark, walking down his driveway, and setting the lantern alight. Like clockwork, the town would say.

The thing that caused a chill racing down the spine of anyone who bothered to think about it was that now, it lit at almost the exact time that Hector had once lit it every night.

Just like clockwork.

From the side of the house two headlights suddenly burned to life, looking very much like eye's in the dark, and from the shadows an old fashioned car seamed to materialize. In the dark it looked very much like one of the Black Cadillac's that carried the dead to their burial place, that was at least until it passed the old street lamp and one could see that it wasn't. And that it was just a very big black car, as dark and mysterious as whoever sat behind it's wheel.

The car stopped at the end of the driveway, at the mailbox that was shaped like a screaming cat, with it's hair standing on end and everything. One of the many things the owner had not bothered to change since Hector had lived there. The window rolled down and the owner reached out, his hand looking very white against the dark as he checked his mail.

Across the street, a man sitting on his porch watched this in a state of wary curiosity. He took a drink of his tea, as the look of fixation fell from his face when the hand went back in the car and the window was once again rolled up. He watched the car all the way down the street, before his glance fell to something else.

A few moments after this, Jeff King, who was just finishing up putting his tires back on his car, which may have been a nice car if it hadn't been so horrible beaten up by the older kids in the neighborhood, caught sight of the black automobile as it passed by. He froze, looking at it with a fearful look, as though it were some sort of ill omen. He nervously wiped his hand over his forehead, not taking his eyes off of the cars progress. As the car got in front of his house, (which was the sort of house you'd expect the owner of a town to live in.) it seamed to slow down. At first Jeff told himself it was just his imagination, but after a while it became obvious that the car was indeed decelerating. He froze, his look of fear slowly changing to an ugly look that Edward Violet or Gregory would have recognized, for it was the same look his son had been wearing earlier. The car was but crawling now, it seamed to be taunting him, just waiting for him to lose his nerve. Jeff stood his ground as he waited for something to happen.

Suddenly the cars brights flashed on, illuminating Jeff's face and the street with blinding light. Jeff started terribly, to his own shame. And looked after the car with an intense hatred as it sped up again and passed Jeff's house. He stood in front of his house until the car turned the corner and was out of sight. In his hands, the bandana he had been using while replacing his tires was twisted and just slightly ripped.

"You conniving scum bag." He whispered below his breath.

"Mr. King." A voice came from behind him making him jump again and let out a girlish yelp. He turned to see who was addressing him. It was Annabel Venison from up the street, standing beside her, shaking and looking quite cranky was his son.

"Sorry for scaring you Mr. King. Me and Frank found your son down at Skeleton Lake…"

"Well down in Skeleton Lake we should say." Frank said with no sign of amusement in his voice.

Jeff looked at his son with a crease in his brow, then back up at the couple quizzically.

"How did this happen?" He said, then his eyes fell upon Gregory who was sitting in the backseat of the Venison car, looking quite wet himself.

"You did this to my son." He said pointing at the boy who looked up at Jeff with confusion in his eyes.

"Wha?" Gregory started.

"Now Mr. King Gregory didn't do anything." Annabel said. "Both boys were pushed in the lake." Jeff nodded and turned from Gregory, not bothering to apologize. His eyes narrowed.

"Well, who did it then?" He asked the two portly adults who looked at each other tiredly.

"Do you even have to ask Mr. King?" Frank said. "Ever since Mr. Wayward passed on, his children have become this towns living demons." Annabel nodded.

"Yes, and their mother doesn't do anything about it. Not a very good parent. She can't seam to get her children under control." Jeff tightened his jaw, then after taking a deep breath he forced a smile. It wasn't a very good one, one could tell that easily by looking at the faces of those it was directed to, as a look of discomfort crossed their countenance.

"Well, they did lose their father, and their mother doesn't seam to care much about them. It's a sad situation, but their acts of juvenile delinquency is obviously just a way to get attention." Jeff said, his voice filled with a thick and sickening kindness.

Justin, who had remained oddly quiet throughout this time, screwed his face up in a look that made him appear as though he had just swallowed something very nasty.

"Your not going to do anything about this?" He yelled up at his father shrilly. Frank and Annabel winced.

"Well son, some people aren't as fortunate as we are…"

"Those kids aren't unfortunate, their just rotten stupid, evil children. I'm sick of being pushed around by them because you feel like being a freaking coward!" The boy's voice had gone up in volume throughout his speech. Jeff was wincing too by the end of it.

"Justin you have to understand…" He started flashing the Venison's with a look as embarrassment.

"I don't have to understand anything. If you won't do something about the Wayward kids, I will! This town would do well to get rid of them." He turned towards the Venison's and gave them an angry look.

"And it's KING LAKE. Hector Skellingtons dead. Get over it!" He stormed past his father and into the house, slamming the door behind him." Jeff laughed nervously.

"He's had a…um…rough day." Jeff stammered. "I think I'll go inside as well. Thank you for bringing him back." He looked at Gregory, who looked back at him in obvious dislike.

"Sorry about the snappish judgment. I suppose I've had quite a rough day too." He said, standing and smiling a little longer before following his son back into the house. Annabel and Frank looked at each other.

"Sheesh! Talk about not having any control over your kids." Frank said, before sitting behind the wheel of their car again. Annabel looked at him for a moment with her hands on her hips. He cleared his throat and slid over to the passenger side.

"Sorry dear." She nodded as she sat in the drivers seat. They pulled out of the Kings driveway and headed towards Gregory's house.

Up in his room Justin was having a fit. He threw his many things around at the walls ripping his stuffed animals to shreds and breaking a good many expensive glass things. Finally, after it was all over he sat on his bed, and took a deep breath. Now that he had gotten rid of his rage, he was clear headed enough to puzzle over how he would deal with the Wayward children.

His cousins came to mind. They we're bigger boys. True bullies, with a lot of muscle. They could take care of Edward and Violet. Unfortunately, they weren't going to visit for another month or so.

Justin sighed and walked to his window where the blinds had been crudely ripped from the bar at the top. He looked out, raising his fist to his chin in thought. His eye's wondered to the top of the Pumpkin House and a thought arose in his mind. His face lit up with it.

When they had been there earlier that night, Edward and Violet had been scared when all of the lights came on. They were just as afraid of it as anyone else. If he could somehow work that house into his plans, perhaps he could scare Violet and Edward so badly that for once they would be the ones getting embarrassed, being made fun of, humiliated. Maybe then he could get rid of them for good. They would fear him, and finally, he and his family would get a little more respect. It was hard to when those brats constantly sabotaged them. Oh sure, the town claimed that the Wayward children terrorized all of them. But Justin knew the truth. They were all in it together. The whole town hated them. They all wanted them out so they could have their precious Pumpkin Town back.

"Freaks." He whispered to himself. He smiled in the dark of his room, looking quite mad as he did, but as he looked at the Pumpkin house his smile dropped from his lips.

What was he thinking? He didn't want to get near that house. How could he scare someone with it if he refused to get within a hundred feet of it.

A bitter looked crossed his face. When his family had moved in he had been sure that the house had been part of their plot to get him and his family out pf their town. He had thought all of the strange occurrences were a result of a whole town trying to ward away "outsiders" the people they felt didn't belong there. And most of all to get rid of the family who had bought their precious town and made it…well…normal.

He had even investigated this theory. He knew more about the things that went on at that house then almost anyone else, certainly more then his father or mother did. He had watched it from a distance to avoid being seen and had made note of everything that seamed out of place or paranormal. But after watching the house for a month or so his theory about the neighborhood being in on the stuff that went on there kind of fell apart in front of him. It did this because after a while, Justin had a hard time believing any of the neighbors could be in on something like that. They all seamed terrified of the house. And none of them ever went near it.

Besides, some of the stuff that happened there went a little beyond their abilities. Justin could ignore the improbability of a candle setting itself alight, and of lights turning on by themselves, and perhaps even the sounds one heard sometimes at night that most people would not seam to be capable of making. But he drew the line on stuff like misty figures walking across the window, and unearthly lights shining from the attic, and once, when he had been passing by the house on his way home from school when he had missed the bus because he had thought his father was going to pick him up (But couldn't because his tires had been let out…again.) he had seen what he had thought to be a light on in the basement it had been flickering in an odd manner, so he had stopped. After a few moments he had realized to his own horror the flickering must have been fire. He watched it for a while, as smoke and the smell of burning things drifted about and then suddenly, as though he had been imagining the whole thing, it went away. The basement became dark, the smoke vanished and the smell went away. Justin had decided to never walk that way home again.

Justin backed away from his window. His countenance once again displaying that of deep thought. Perhaps he could get someone to help him. He didn't think too many people in town would, especially if it meant going anywhere near The Pumpkin House…but perhaps he could get someone who wasn't from around here to help him…someone who didn't really know about the stories surrounding the house. Someone like Gregory perhaps. He smiled to himself. Gregory was new, didn't have any friends, seamed the sort who might appreciate some protection…for a price of course. Maybe he could even go an easier way and just pretend to be Gregory's friend… new kids were usually desperate to be friends with anyone. Then, if he did that, he could get Gregory to help him with matters of the house, and dump him afterwards. It'd be easy. Then he could get back at Edward and Violet for everything they had done to him in the past.

Justin grinned to himself as the plan formulated in his mind. This, he thought, would be very sweet indeed. Forgetting that they were broken he pulled down his blinds for emphasis, the result was the whole thing coming down on top of him.

In the night that fell upon Kingston, illuminated slightly by the lanterns in front of all of the houses, no one saw as a light in the attic of the Pumpkin House turned on.

Hmm, at some times Justin's not quite as annoying as I thought I would make him…and Gregory's not as much of a loser as I thought I'd make him. O well. Characters tend to do that I suppose. Have a mind of their own. Well I finished the chapter. It's a bit short, and not much happens, but I figure I'll give anyone who wants to read it this before getting in too deeply. I have to plan out a lot of what happens from here on. Still, I plan to update as much as possible and expect to have the next chapter out soon. Thank you for your reviews (ladybirdbuzz) since you are the only one who has reviewed this story. I'm glad your enjoying it and I greatly appreciate your feedback.


	5. Justin's House

Chapter Four

Justin's House

By the time Gregory got home he was nearly dry. After the Venison's explained what had happened to his aunt she became nearly impossible to be around. After a full twenty minutes of her compassion, apologies, and a light scolding about how she "Knew those kids were rotten from the beginning and that next time he should pay her some mind." (Gregory didn't bother to tell her it had been her fault he had wound up with them in the first place.) he finally was able to sneak up to his room.

He changed out of his damp clothing and into his pj's, and after turning down dinner he got under his covers and with his head rested on his arms, stared up at the ceiling. When it became painfully obvious that he was going to have trouble getting to sleep Gregory let his thoughts wonder to various things. His thoughts visited a variety of subjects; from his mother and father and his old town, to this new place he was becoming less and less fond of, and the stories that he was just beginning to hear that were connected to it. The stories were what stuck. No matter what he tried to think about, as the night got more and more silent, his mind kept wondering back to them.

Gregory turned to his side and let out a tired sigh. "Not much of a bedtime story, that's for sure." He whispered to himself. Still, Gregory was old enough to not be frightened by such tales, even if they swam around his head in the middle of the night. After all, towns like Kingston often had their array of fables and folklore attached to it's strange and mysterious past. It was almost a fact of all small towns. As though the townspeople inside them tried to compensate for the size, or their utter lack of animation by making up ghost stories. A lot of people would say that this was part of a small towns charm.

The adult part of Gregory's mind thought it was sort of foolish, but the kid part, which was still very much alive under his nearly mature exterior found an attractive fascination in the stories. Gregory tried to block this curiosity out. No one got anywhere in life by listening to fairy tales.

Though he disliked Jeff King, he thought the man had made a good point upon their first meeting. It was probably better to get the true history of the town by someone like him. After all, sometimes the worst source of information was that of the people who had been living in the town to see everything happen. Their minds often got confused after a while, and their facts got messed up in their excited tales of fiction.

It was Mr. Kings foreignness with Kingston that made him honest. He hadn't been attached to the town or the previous owner, and because of that, he didn't have to make up stories to immortalize them.

Gregory's eye lids suddenly felt very heavy. As he began to drift off to sleep, Gregory's thoughts of Kingston began to grow confused. Before they did, his last coherent thought was this;

_'I wonder what Mr. King would think about all of the lights in the Pumpkin House turning on.'_

Now, when someone thinks about something right before they sleep, they will often times be visited by such things in their dreams. Gregory had a lot of dreams that night related to Kingston and The Pumpkin House, but the one he woke up from at three o clock in the morning, the one that would keep him up for the rest of the night was the following:

He was back on King Lake (Skeleton Lake.) He stood about halfway across the Pumpkin Bridge and was looking down into the lakes murky depths. As he did, he thought he saw something deep in the shadows. Two points of light, like eyes, on the surface of a giant hulking shape. As he watched it grew bigger, It's massive form grew more and more visible. Gregory recognized what it was right before it burst through the water. He shut his eyes tight and squeezed his fingers into fists, which he knew would probably leave nail marks on his palms. When he opened his eyes his face was bathed in an unearthly light.

Slowly, the lights faded, until it was dim enough for Gregory to make out. Headlights. Behind the old circular headlights was the old fashioned car he had admired earlier that day. Now that the cars brights were off, Gregory could see the whole thing. He saw every detail of the car…save the driver, who still sat in the shadows. The passenger door opened. Jeff King stepped out.

_"Gregory, it's your fault this car was in the lake!" _

_"But I didn't even see it go in, besides, do you even have to ask who's fault it was?" _

_"Blaming this on the Wayward kids is pointless, they both ran away, you were the only one here. Now face your punishment." He walked up to Gregory and grabbed him by the shirt. _

_"Where are we going." _

_"To the attic, boy." As he pulled him along Gregory vaguely saw a shadowy figure step out from the drivers seat. _

_"Wait, Don't trust him, he's not who you think he is." The man called out to them. Gregory felt a little angry at this._

_"What do you mean I'm not who he thinks I am…you don't know me!" _

_Suddenly he was being dragged down corridors and hallways, all of them covered in shadows. _

_"No leave me alone. I didn't do it!" He screamed to Mr. King as the man shoved him through a doorway. Gregory looked about him, examining his surroundings. It was a furnished room covered in dust. There was a window on the opposite wall of where Gregory was standing. By that window was a large chair that was turned away from him. _

_"Where are we?" Gregory asked softly._

_"I think it's about time you meet Mr. Skellington." Jeff said and he reached out and turned the chair around. In it sat a terribly decayed elderly man. His eyes were wide open, the color black. And somehow, Gregory knew they could see him._

That was when Gregory woke up screaming.

The next morning Gregory felt terrible. He barely touched his breakfast and instead went right to work on sorting out his stuff. His aunt came to check on him a couple times, on both occasions he tried to drop the hint that he wanted to be left alone. He was tired and now utterly depressed. He had decided the previous night that he wasn't too fond of this town. He had already gotten picked on, the owner seamed like a total loser, and that car, which he had admired the day before was now spoiled for him as well. Since that dream, the car made him feel weird, like he had met it's driver, or like the driver was Hector Skellington. Why had it come out of the lake in his dream? Gregory tried to put it out of his mind. After all, it was just a dream.

He looked around briefly for the box that had had all of his favorite things in it, but couldn't seam to find it. He sighed in frustration. His aunt must have left it in the car. He walked out of his room and down the stairs to the front door, feeling very unmotivated to venture outside at this time. Part of him, a small part mind you, was a little worried about Edward and Violet. They did, after all know where he lived.

He stepped outside of his front door and looked about his yard. It seamed safe enough, so he crossed the yard slowly and opened the cars left side door. As he stuck his head inside the door, he began searching under the seats for his box. He didn't notice as someone came up behind him.

"Hey Gregory." Gregory let out a quick yell of surprise, which was cut off when he banged his head on the ceiling of the car. He pulled his head out of the door and turned around quickly to see who was addressing him. His wary look turned to one of irritation when he saw Justin standing behind him, smiling as though he hadn't just scared him out of his mind.

"What are you doing there?" The boy asked, smiling in a way that made Gregory oddly uncomfortable. He wondered briefly if Justin was trying to beat him up now too. He pushed that thought away on the grounds that he could probably actually beat Justin.

"Uh…nothing." Gregory answered, giving the skinny boy an odd look.

"Oh…well…that was something yesterday wasn't it. Those Wayward kids are awful…aren't they?" Justin said, while rocking on his heels and looking vaguely uncomfortable himself.

"Yeah…sure." Gregory answered, he stuck his head back in the car to continue his search, hoping that Justin would take the hint and go away.

"That water was cold." Justin said behind him. Gregory sighed to himself.

"Yeah, it was." He answered quickly. Finally he found his box, which was small and wooden. His father had given it to him when he was six. Since then he kept all of his most precious things in it. He backed out of the car and closed the door, trying to ignore Justin who was watching him curiously.

"What have you got there?" The boy asked.

"Nothing." Gregory answered as he began to make his way back to his front door.

"Wait up Gregory, I want to talk to you about something." Gregory stopped and slumped his shoulders. Why couldn't he just be left alone.

"Yeah Justin." He said, frustration ebbing into his voice. Justin didn't seam to notice.

"I was just wondering-" He was cut off by the sound of a rather loud engine. Gregory saw Justin's face change. Suddenly, he looked very confused. He swung around and watched as the same car Gregory had seen yesterday, and the night before in his dreams drive up the street.

"What's he doing here?" Justin said quietly, though not too quietly so that Gregory could not hear. Gregory looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" He asked, watching the car as it progressed towards the end of the street.

"He never comes back this early. He just left last night. Dad says he usually comes around once a month at the most." Justin said, turning away from the car as it disappeared at the turn. He shrugged.

"Anyway, what I was going to ask was whether or not you wanted to come over to my house and hang out or something." Gregory raised his brow. Justin hadn't exactly made a good impression on him the night before…in fact, he had really irritated him. He wasn't really so sure he wanted to suddenly start making friends with some one who was obviously spoiled and extremely pompous, not to mention loudmouthed and screamed like a girl.

"Come on, it'll be fun, I'll show you around afterwards….you know, in a way that won't land you in the lake when the tour is over." Gregory sighed.

"I guess." He said, looking at Justin suspiciously. Justin grinned. His grin made Gregory uncomfortable. There was something…out of place in it, like he rarely practiced or something.

"So, what are you doing right now?" Justin asked.

"Uh…moving in still I guess." Gregory answered, while looking at the box he still had clutched in his fingers.

"Well why don't you take a break." Justin said pleasantly.

"I don't know…"

"Aw come one, it won't hurt anything, you can finish later." Gregory sighed.

"Well, alright, let me go ask." He said. He turned around and walked towards his front door, wondering if he might just go inside and then neglect to come back out again. He wasn't feeling much like going over to Justin's house. He still had a lot of work to do and Justin seamed a bit…off. When he got inside his aunt spoke to him from his right.

"Gregory." She said. He turned around to find her gazing out the window.

"Who is that boy that you are talking to?" Gregory rolled his eyes and set his box down on an end table by the couch.

"His names Justin."

"Uh huh. He's not like those other kids is he…he doesn't look it but…you never know."

"I don't think so…actually he's kind of a dork." His aunt gave him a sharp look.

"Don't be rude Gregory, calling little boys foolish names is no way to behave." Gregory sighed.

"It's not like he can hear me." Gregory said to his aunt, in the process of sitting on the couch. His aunt frowned, and then without saying a word, went to the front door and pulled it open.

"You, Justin, come here." Gregory cocked his brow.

"What are you doing?" Gregory asked. Justin walked up.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking sort of out of place, or perhaps like he was in some sort of trouble.

"Why are you here Justin?" Gregory's aunt asked, a stern look on her face.

"I came to ask if Gregory wanted to hang out." Justin said. Anne gave Justin a strange look.

"How do I know your not some kind of hooligan?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and taking on a authoritative stance. "Who are your parents in case you miss behave?"

"Well, my dad owns the town so…" Gregory watched sickly as his aunts look changed from suspicion to that of delight.

"Your fathers that nice man who greeted us yesterday?"

"I guess."

"Oh well, in that case I give you full permission to go Gregory, it would be nice for you to make friends with such a nice well behaved boy. And see he isn't a dork, his father owns the town." Gregory sighed, and gave his aunt a really irritated look. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Justin's smile freeze on his face, suddenly looking quite a bit more fake then it had before.

"Run along now." Anne said while picking up Gregory's small wooden box.

"I'll take this up to your room." With one last smile directed towards Justin she hurried up the stairs.

"Uh…" Gregory started, turning away from the direction of the stairway, and fixing Justin with a slightly apologetic glance.

"Sorry about…" Justin waved a hand in front of him.

"No problem, I get it all the time. Come on, lets go. If we hurry we won't have to run into my dad. He's been a bit nutty lately, what with Halloween looming close." Gregory looked at Justin with some interest as they walked out his front door and into his yard.

"Why's that?"

"Haven't you heard? This town goes nuts for Halloween. They have a huge party every year." Gregory nodded.

"Yeah…I think I did hear about that."

"Well, my dad gets really freaked out around this time. He wasn't always like that but…this town is kind of, you know….cracking him up."

"Oh." Gregory said. He turned away and looked off into the distance. Above the houses he could see the tip of Pumpkin House. Justin looked sideways at him, about to say something, but noticed his attention was elsewhere. He followed his gaze and unseen by Gregory, he grinned wickedly.

"Pretty strange place isn't it?" He asked while crossing the street, his own house was becoming visible. Gregory looked at him, then back up toward the house.

"Yeah." He said absently.

"Probably heard some pretty strange stories about the place huh?" Justin asked.

"Yeah." Gregory answered again. He looked away from the house and fixed Justin with a curious look.

"Have you ever seen anything? I mean…weird about the house?" Justin's smile broadened.

"Nope, nothing at all. I'm pretty convinced that that house is just a house. The towns people here just like their stories. Nothings ever happened as far as I know." Gregory nodded, looking relieved, and perhaps a little disappointed. Another thought came to him as they crossed the street again and came to Justin's driveway.

"Hey Justin?"

"Yeah?"

"How did Hector die anyway?" Gregory asked this question in what he hoped was a normal voice.

"Uh…I think it was something like…he died somewhere in his attic…from a heart attack or something." Justin answered, not sounding particularly interested in the subject. Gregory nodded.

They had reached Justin's front door.

"There wasn't anything…odd about his death?" Gregory asked curiously, already hoping for nothing.

"Well, they said they found him in a sort of weird position." Justin started, he had tried the knob, but it must have been locked, for he now was searching through his pockets, for What Gregory assumed was his key.

"What was that?" Gregory asked.

"Um, he was sitting in a chair or something by the window. Like…they couldn't even tell he was dead…There found it." Justin said triumphantly while pulling a shiny brass key from his pocket. He looked up and his expression changed.

"What's wrong with you…" he started, looking a little alarmed. "You look like you've seen a ghost or something." Gregory thought he must have looked very white. He felt terrible, like he was about to pass out or something.

"Uh…" For a moment he considered sharing his dream, then he seamed to remember who he was with and he pushed that thought away.

"No, I'm alright, just must have…got a small wave of dizziness or something." Justin nodded while opening his door. He stuck his head in and looked around.

"Ok, it's safe…my dad must not be up." Gregory nodded and stepped into the house.

"Wipe your feet, the maid gets sort of weird if you don't. She wont say anything, but she'll stare at you every time she sees you. It gets really annoying when your trying to eat." Gregory rose his brow.

"Ok." He said, feeling as though he just wondered into some sort of insane asylum. He wiped his feet and came all the way in.

Justin's house was huge. The interior looked out of place in a town like Kingston, as though it belonged in a much bigger and nicer neighborhood.

After getting a few steps into the room, Gregory heard the sound of footfalls on the stairs.

"Oh great." Justin said under his breath, but so that Gregory could hear.

A moment later a very thin woman walked into the room. She looked very pale and stern. Gregory was reminded of the sort of school instructors one was most unfortunate to get sometimes.

"I swear that man gets more and more stupid every day. Hello Justin." The woman stopped in front of the two boys and fixed Gregory with a stony look.

"Who is this?"

"this is Gregory, mother. He's new in town." The woman looked at Greg for a moment longer then looked away as though she could care less. Gregory decided he didn't much like her either.

"Your father has been sitting up in our bedroom all morning, he's been staring at that stupid house again. He about had a heart attack when that horrible car drove up the street. I swear if only he had." Gregory watched Justin's mother uncomfortably. He had already decided she was a very ugly woman, not for any particular reason except for the terrible look on her face, it made her look old and foolish. He sometimes thought that such a look could make even a slightly attractive woman look quite homely.

Justin must have seen his look, for he was suddenly wearing a quite embarrassed look on his own face.

"well, um, me and Gregory are going up to my room now. See ya mom." He said, while grabbing Gregory by the wrist and pulling him along after him. They started up the stairs.

"Why does your dad hate the guy who owns Pumpkin House so much?" Gregory asked, casting one last wary look at Justin's mother.

"Huh? Oh…I don't know. I guess it's because he sort of lives in my dad's town but my dad doesn't know any more about him then anyone else does. He's sort of paranoid." Justin was leading him down a long hallway. On his right, Gregory saw something that made him stop.

Hanging on the wall was a large somewhat old looking map. Gregory examined it thoughtfully. When Justin saw he wasn't following anymore Gregory was vaguely aware that he was giving him an impatient look.

"What are you doing?" The boy asked, annoyance edging into his voice.

"Is this the town?" Gregory asked. Justin walked up and looked at the map himself.

"Yeah. It's old, my dad got it with the deed."

At the top the words Pumpkin Town were crossed out.

Kingston, the map now read in an almost childish scrawl. Gregory found it a little odd that Mr. King would ruin an obviously antique map just to write his own name in cheep marker.

His eyes wiped across the surface. He found his own house, Justin's house, then, finally his eyes landed on Pumpkin House. For a moment he just stared at the tiny square that was suppose to represent it, but obviously did it no justice on the plain vague paper, as he did, he was aware of a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Something he had heard someone say that didn't fit. He shrugged and turned away from the aged parchment. Justin's look of aggravation quickly faded as Gregory continued to follow him.

They got to the end of the hall where Justin's room was and Justin opened his door. The sunlight hit Gregory suddenly, momentarily blinding him. After his eyes adjusted he saw why. The blinds on the window had been torn down. Justin's room was a mess. Gregory raised his brow, he had pegged Justin King as a neat freak, given the rest of his house and the way he carried himself.

"Sorry it's a bit messy, I tore it apart yesterday looking for something." He said, his voice sounding perfectly pleasant.

"Must've been something important." Gregory said, while brushing a cardigan off of a chair before sitting down in it.

"Yes I suppose. Well, Gregory, where do you come from?" Justin asked, before sitting down on his bed.

"Uh…somewhere else." Gregory answered. He was examining some scratch marks on the walls. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh…well it's alright, you don't have to tell me."

"Uh, it was called Sleepy Hallow. You know, sort of like the story, only not quite spelled the same. It was bigger then this, but not too big." Gregory said. Justin nodded. He didn't seam to be very interested in the information, which Gregory thought was a little strange considering he had asked the question.

"So those Wayward kids, their pretty irritating huh?" Justin asked. He now fixed Gregory with a look that made Gregory feel extremely uncomfortable, like he was watching him closely, to see if he would respond to his question correctly. Gregory shifted again.

"Yeah…yeah I guess they are." Gregory finally answered.

"Kind of a rotten way to come to a new town huh?" Justin said, looking like he was trying to be sympathetic, but failing miserably at it.

"Yeah. It wasn't much fun. Listen, I have a lot of work to do, maybe we could hang out later." Gregory stood up. Justin didn't seam to notice, he just kept talking.

"It'll only get worse you know. They'll make your life miserable. They've already singled you out. Like me."

"Singled me out?" Gregory found this information extremely unfortunate.

"Oh yes. First it's the lake, then it's stealing stuff from you, knocking over your mail box, letting out your tires, tripping you down the stairs, letting out all kinds of embarrassing information…"

"But they don't know anything about me?" Gregory started. Justin shook his head.

"Doesn't matter, they'd just make it up. Look Gregory, I invited you here for a reason. You seam like a pretty good guy. I'm giving you the chance to get back at Edward and Violet. To stop the harassment before it really begins, to beat them at their own game. If we work together, we can pull it off." Justin was standing now, and his voice was getting intense and very business like.

"I don't know…"

"Come on, it's either this, or get tortured for as long as you're here. They don't let up. It's a sport for them. I want to play their game, but up until now no ones been willing to stand up to them!" Gregory recoiled from Justin, and fixed him with a startled look. He seamed sort of crazy.

"I'll think about it." Gregory said, backing towards Justin's door. Justin watched him as he did.

"Good, think about it. But remember, things will only get worse. They need to be stopped."

When Gregory got out of Justin's room he let out a sigh of relief, and hurried down the hall.

He was about to the stairs when he saw the map out of the corner of his eye. He stopped suddenly. Of course! That was what had been bugging him. He approached the map and found Pumpkin House in the far corner. About an inch in a half behind it on the surface of the parchment was a long red line. The boundary line. It was on all of the sides of the map, marking off where the territory of Kingston ended.

The day before Jeff had said that the person who owned Pumpkin House didn't have to tell him his name, that he had privileges because he lived 'right on the boundary of the town.' But according to the map that statement wasn't true. Pumpkin House was well in the boundaries of Kingston, by a good forty or fifty feet at most. If Jeff King truly owned Kingston then he should have known who lived in that house. Whoever did would have to pay him some sort of property taxes, and Gregory thought those sort of things had to be signed with some sort of name. Even if it was a false or made up one. He frowned. It didn't make any sense. Why had Mr. King tried to conceal that information…did he just not know about it. No, Gregory didn't think that was possible, it was his town, and it was right here on this map which hung right here in his own hallway.

Gregory was struck with another idea. Perhaps the man was some sort of big shot, like everyone in town seamed to think. Maybe he preferred to not be seen, and Jeff King was just keeping his information secret for him. Sure, that made sense.

Gregory pulled away from the map and walked back down Justin's stair case. He decided not to think about it. What Jeff King said didn't concern him anyway.

By the time Gregory had left the house he had decided not to take Justin up on his offer, the boy seamed a bit nuts.

After getting home he continued with his work, pushing everything else to the back of his mind.

At least…for the time being.

_The story of Hector Skellingtons death;_

_As told by several of the towns residents, particularly of the child variety and most often in front of a roaring campfire. _

_The day was October 23, four days before the big Halloween celebration. Ordinarily Hector would be about, ensuring the towns decorations and wishing pleasantries to the residents themselves. This year, the town found his behavior quite odd, because although they had seen him about he had not yet put up his own yearly decorations. Most of the town assumed he was up to something special, and did not question the change in his behavior. _

_Three days before Halloween, Hector didn't show up at all. Some of the town was worried, but most just shrugged it off. Hector was a very depressed man. Because this was common knowledge the town grew quite used to his periodic bouts of misery, where he would lock himself in his house and talk to no one. They were all quite sure he would show up on Halloween regardless. _

_Two days. Many of the town began to think he had fallen ill. Hector lived alone since his sons had grown up and left him. He had had a wife, but she had already passed on. Because of the fact that Hector had no one with him, no one could precisely tell the town whether or not he was all right. _

_One day before the big celebration. Some of the towns people tried knocking on his door and ringing his door bell. They gave up eventually. They debated whether or not they should just break in, but these plans fell away immediately when someone said they could have sworn they saw a light in the attic turn on. Everyone turned away from Pumpkin House relieved. They decided not to bother him any further, knowing that he hated to be bothered when he went on one of his bouts of dejection. _

_It was Halloween and Hector Skellington had not yet made an appearance. Finally the town decided it was time to take action. This had never happened before. _

_Upon picking Hectors many locks, which had proven quite difficult they ascended his stairs. When they reached the attic it was locked. The lights were obviously off. Two of the larger members of the group beat the door down. _

_Hectors favorite chair sat up against the window, his feet could be seen under, the chair was turned away. Someone called to him, but he did not answer. _

_Finally someone stepped forward and went around the chair, for a moment they continued to say his name, when that person finally realized what was going on, Their words dies in their throat. _

_"He's dead." The woman, for it had been a woman said to the rest of the group. They all walked around the chair, as though they could not believe such a thing without seeing it for themselves. _

_'At first', described some of old timers who had been there, 'it was as though he wasn't dead at all. His head was rested on his palm, he was wearing a look of quiet contemplation, nothing in his face suggested death, as though it had come upon him so quickly…that he didn't even have time to be surprised by it.' Hector was buried that evening in the town cemetery, under the most lovely grave they had. Two weeks later his son was scheduled to come and claim the town, as stated in Hectors will. The younger mans name was Viktor, he had a son of his own who was nearly grown, about 17 or 18 at the time. Of Hectors two sons, Viktor and his son visited the town the most, they loved it about as much as he did. _

_No one was quite sure what happened after that. Viktor didn't show up on the day he was suppose to receive the deed to Pumpkin Town. He was written up as missing when no one could find his whereabouts. _

_Several months after he did not make his apointment, Viktor's body was finally found. To the towns complete horror and utter surprise, he was discovered at the bottom of Skeleton Lake. No one had even seen him enter Pumpkin Town. _

_Viktor's son, Jack made his fathers funeral. He left town at a later date because another complication arose with what remained of his family. Because he was at that point the legal owner of the town, according to his grandfathers will, he was seeked out to recieve the deed. _

_He was never found._

Hurray, the chapter is done!

Well, the next one should be coming soon, I hope this one was alright.


	6. An Unfortunate Day At The Skellington Sc...

Chapter Five

An Unfortunate Day at The Old Skellington School

Gregory woke up early the next morning to his alarm clock going off. It took him a few minutes to remember why he had it set. When he did, he felt a terrible dropping sensation in his stomach. He had to start school today. He groaned as he got out of bed.

It was still mostly dark outside, except for the tiny bit of light appearing over the horizon. By his window the calendar read October. He stared at it for a moment before putting a large black X over the square marked fifteen. He then went about getting ready to start his first day at his new school in this new town, where he would probably experience much of the same things he had in his previous educational structure. This included being picked on a lot, and having very few friends.

"Gregory! Are you up?" He heard his aunt call from downstairs.

"Yes Anne!" He called back, after pulling his shirt down over his head. There was a pause.

"Gregory call me Aunt Anne, now. Respect your elders!" Gregory said a few choice words about his elders beneath his breath before leaving his room and heading downstairs into the kitchen. Out of habit he nearly turned to the right when he got to the bottom of the stairs, only to remember that he was living in an entirely different house. He redirected himself, now feeling more depressed then ever.

"Morning Gregory, how was your sleep?" His aunt asked the minute he got into the kitchen which was brightly lit with that irritating almost artificial light that made you feel out of place in the early hours of the morning.

"Fine." Gregory said quietly before sitting down at the table. Apathy jumped up onto the old wooden surface just as Gregory put his elbows down and gave him a nasty look accompanied by a low growl. Gregory looked at her tiredly and said a few threatening words his aunt couldn't hear to the bright eyed and rather evil looking Siamese cat.

"What was that Greg?" His aunt asked as she pulled down a gross type of bran cereal.

"Nothing." Gregory said much too quickly.

Twenty minutes later after a terrible breakfast and a few minutes of fruitless attention to his hair which just wound up sticking straight up like it always did he left his house and headed for the school building, which wasn't a long walk, but would eventually seam like one as the weather turned colder. He kept his head down most of the time, deep in thought, and examining things that people often did without noticing, like the way his white tennis shoes stuck out against the pavement, and the random scatter of stones along the curb. When he finally looked up he could see the old looking school building, now only a hundred feet away.

Kingston only had one school. As many small towns seam to have. It was big enough to serve its purpose, and rarely caused Kingston much trouble what with the small amount of residents in the town. Still, what the kids see as a problem and what the adults see as a problem are two different opinions entirely.

A lot of the children hated having only one school. Younger and weaker kids because they had to put up with the older tough kids all day, and older kids because they had to put up with the immaturity of the younger kids. The adults didn't seam to think putting both age groups in one school was a very big deal.

The school itself was quite old. It had been rebuilt about two years after Hector inherited the town from his father, but that had been quite a long time ago. Now the school looked about as foreboding as all of the older buildings in town.

Gregory observed the foundation gloomily. Some of the windows were broken, others boarded up. The clock, (which seamed quite astounding to Gregory who could not remember any of his older schools being old enough to have one hanging outside above the door) had obviously stopped decades ago. It was frozen at three o' five. The front doors and the brick walls were covered in graffiti that almost entirely matched that of the sign into town. Above the building the words SKELLINGTON SCHOOL was carved in a stone slab.

Gregory felt a little wary about traveling any further, and was seriously considering going home and pretending to be sick, when someone walked up beside him.

"I remember the first time I had to go into those doors, it scared the crap out of me." Gregory turned to see a small boy standing next to him. The boy was built much like him, short and rather stout, though perhaps just a bit larger around the middle then Gregory was. The boy looked about his age, but he may have been younger.

"You just moved here right?" Gregory nodded in response to his question.

"Yeah I saw you drive in a couple days ago." Gregory didn't respond to this. He just looked back up at the school.

"Skellington?" He said quietly, giving his mind a quick search to see where the word had come from.

"Like as in Hector Skellington." Gregory nodded with recognition.

"Right."

"But you don't have to remember that, in fact, just forget the schools old name. Like everything else, it has changed too." Gregory looked at the boy curiously.

"To what?" The boy motioned to a sign a few feet behind Gregory that he had missed coming in. Gregory read it aloud.

"King School…he's not very creative is he?" Gregory asked, a very tired look passing over his face. "King School, Kingston, King Lake…"

"King Bridge, Kingston Town Hall…no kidding, it's down right depressing." The boy finished.

"You'd think he'd let us keep the school though, it's not like his kid goes here."

"No?" Gregory asked looking at the boy.

"Naw his kid goes to some fancy prep school that he has to be driven out to every morning. There's a bus here that goes there now, but he tries to avoid that because a lot of the kids that live too far from King School to walk, ride on it." Gregory nodded absently.

"Oh." He said.

There was a loud ringing sound as the schools ancient bell signaled the beginning of the day.

"Time to go in. Follow me, I'll show you where everything is." The boy said.

"Thanks." Gregory returned, sounding genuinely grateful. Perhaps this would not be such a terrible experience after all.

This thought, as comforting thoughts often were (For Gregory anyway.) was followed by a nasty occurrence which made it entirely false.

Down the hall, on Gregory's left a small boy was literally being taped to the wall by an older boy. Gregory turned to see, and to determine whether or not he should be finding a choice place to hide, when a cold and familiar voice spoke to him from behind.

"Hey, if it isn't good old Greg." Gregory turned around quickly, and saw, from the corner of his eye, the other boy he was with do the same. Edward was standing behind him, wearing a long sleeved red shirt that matched his crimson hair perfectly. He was grinning wickedly.

"What's the matter Greg, I haven't seen you for a couple days. Your not…trying to avoid us are you?" Gregory just stared at him. He cursed his misfortune.

He was vaguely aware that the boy beside him was slowly backing off. He had obviously had his own experiences with the devilish boy and his mischievous sister.

As though Gregory's thoughts had called her (From the underworld perhaps or maybe somewhere worse.) Violet joined her brother. Upon seeing Gregory she grinned, but unlike her brother she also noticed the boy who trying to quietly get away.

"Marion." She said in a falsely pleasant voice. The boy, Marion stopped.

"Please leave me alone today Violet! Isn't it enough you've egged my house twice in the past weekend." He whined, putting his hands up as though to ward her off.

"Actually it was three times, we just did one layer over one of the ones that was already there." She said, approaching Marion who recoiled from her as though she was some sort of horrible embodiment. Edward who had been momentarily distracted by his sisters confrontation with Marion turned back to Gregory with a smug look on his face.

"So, how was the water. Cold, I imagine." Gregory's first shock had subsided, and was replaced by a sort of dull anger that he was trying to keep under control. Bullies just ate up raw fury.

"Well I guess you wouldn't know, having run away like you did." Gregory answered calmly, tucking his rage aside behind a tired demeanor and hiding his fear as best as he could. It must of worked. Edwards face grew dark and his smile seamed more forced then it had.

"I wasn't scared, If that's what your implying." Gregory shrugged.

"Well maybe it is what I'm implying. Normally when people look like their eye balls are about to pop out of their heads and they run off in a hurry their not doing it just for sport." Edwards smile vanished.

From beside Gregory, he could feel Violets eyes on him and Edward. He tried not to look at her, it might break his confidence. When he heard her address him he did in despite his efforts not to.

"Yeah right Greg. Like you wouldn't have been running away if you weren't neck deep in Skeleton Lake." She said. He looked at her. He was faintly aware that if he ever had to be locked in a place with either of them he would want it to be her with him. One look told him she had more sense and ran off of less stupid rage then her brother did.

"Well," He started. He didn't get very far before he was reminded why he had been trying to keep eye contact with Edward. He felt a heavy blow contact his stomach. His books fell to the floor as he made a desperate gasping noise. A second later the bigger boy had him in a choke hold very similar to the one he had had Justin in a couple nights before.

He struggled in Edwards clutch for a few seconds before giving up, the boy was laughing. It sounded terrible. It was cold and high. Gregory was finding his first day at King School very dispiriting at this point. Pity, he had actually been doing quite well up to then.

Violet looked at him blankly, before looking down the hall and spotting a teacher.

"Staff is coming Edward." She said quickly.

"Aw come on Vi. Like I care." Edward said. "Where's your sense of fun." Her face screwed up into something that if directed to Gregory would have scared him to death.

"Come on Edward!" She said sharply as she nudged him hard in the rib. Edwards grasp on Gregory loosened enough for him to wriggle free. He stumbled into the hallway as the teacher drew near.

"Ow Violet what the he-"

"What's going on Edward…Violet?" The teacher asked as she paused in front of them. Edward looked up at her, while rubbing his rib with a pained expression on his face.

"None of your business old lady." He said sulkily. The woman shot him a dangerous look.

"Do I have to send you home again Edward?" He shrugged.

"I don't know why you think that's such a threat, half of the time we don't come anyway." The teachers lips thinned.

"Very well then, get out. Both of you." Violet looked up at the teacher angrily.

"Hey I didn't do nothing!" She said hotly.

"I don't care. I'm fed up with you monstrous brats constantly causing trouble in the school. Everyday you're here something goes wrong. This time you'll just go, and you won't come back. I'm sure the headmaster will agree with me." Violet sneered at the woman.

"You can't do that. Our dad was responsible for most of this place!" Violet argued. Edward was silent beside her. Apparently he didn't seam to think a lack of education was a very big deal.

"Well, miss Wayward, your father is not here, and it's obvious having to raise two children as nasty as you are has made your mother incapable of taking action. So I am doing it for her by banning you from King School. But as you said, Mr. Wayward, you don't come here half of the time anyway…so no great loss." Violet glared for a moment longer before straightening and walking out the door. She muttered something under her breath which the teacher must have taken for something nasty given her response to it.

"I see being the oldest child does not make you any more mature then your brother Miss Violet. That's a poor way to go." Edward had seamed to quiet down in the wake of his sisters outburst. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed her sorely.

The woman then looked down at Gregory, who watched as the two children left the building.

"Didn't happen to catch what the little monster called me under her breath did you?" The woman asked. Gregory could tell she was at least half kidding.

He _had_ caught what Violet had said, but still shook his head. The teacher nodded absently and began to help him pick up his books.

"Don't worry. Those two are the worst kids you'll run into in this town. You should be thankful you met them so early, it will make everyone else a lot easier to deal with." Gregory nodded, still looking out the door.

('It's Skellington School.') Violet had said. ('You should know that.')

"They are?" He said, in a voice that sounded very far away.

"Indeed so." She said this with a complete surety. "That whole family must be the worst in town." Gregory nodded.

Although later he would find she had been wrong. But that day was still a ways off, and by that time, Violet would not seam so bad to him anyway.

Several hours later Violet was busy squishing ants on a high branch up in a tree in her and Edwards yard when her brother stuck his head out of a makeshift club house they had built quite a few years before.

"Come on Shock and help me with the water balloons. I swiped this great stuff off of the janitor that's suppose to burn stuff away. I figure if we throw it on Justin we can probably get most of the hair off of him." He said this while climbing up the tree and sitting on a branch beside his sister. He held out a can of the stuff to her. She looked at it and nodded distractedly. Edward lowered the can in a puzzled manner.

"What's up with you?" He asked with no real concern.

"Nothing." Violet answered while spearing another ant with her pointed stick.

"Well then come on. If we start now we should be finished by the time Justin's fancy prep school lets out." He started to climb down the tree again, but stopped when he noticed his sister was not following him.

"Vi? Are you coming or not?"

"In a bit, you get started and just leave me a dozen or so." She said.

"Alright…fine." He started heading down again. When he got down to the club house and got inside Violet dropped the sharp stick and watched bemusedly as it fell to the cold ground below. She sighed and sat back, while casting a quick look down to the wooden top of the tiny structure they had built with their father so many years before.

They called the club house the fun house, which she supposed had been cute once when they had been young and had used it for little more then playing. The name now had a somewhat psychotic touch to it. This was because these days they used the club house to build and plan all of the chaotic stunts and pranks they were planning to play on the town…

Fun house indeed.

An autumn leaf blew by Violets ear and slapped against a nearby branch. Violet watched as the orange red leaf struggled against the bark for a moment before blowing off again, swaying delicately in the wind. She slid down from the place she was sitting, landing easily onto the thick branches below. The fun house creaked audibly as another firm October wind blew. Violet slowly walked to it.

When she strolled in Edward was struggling to tie a balloon that looked like it was going to burst open. Tiny droplets of whatever he had inside the balloon were dripping down onto the floor where they landed, sizzling for a moment, before letting up a thin dwindle of smoke.

"Lock, we can't throw that on Justin head." She said. Edward looked up at her questionably. The balloon made a bizarre rubbery sound then burst open. Edward let out a loud yell and practically threw the thing on the opposite wall where it ran down the wood, peeling it off as it did. Violet watched this, her expression barely changing.

"Why not?" Edward asked, while looking away from the smoking puddle.

"Oh please, Justin wears so many hazardous things in his hair as it is…for all we know we could be doing him a favor." She answered, while plucking the stuff out of Edwards hands.

"On the other hand, if we can get this stuff in our water guns without burning the plastic away I'd bet it'd be excellent for wearing down tires." She gave the can a shake. Something popped inside it making her flinch.

"Or maybe we should just save it for a special occasion." She said while holding the thing away from her and walking across the room to an old file cabinet where they kept all of their "supplies."

"Alright." Edward said, while watching her. "But until then, what are we suppose to do?" Violet spun around, putting her small fingers to her pointed chin in thought.

"I don't know…I guess we could bust a couple mail boxes." She answered, while sitting down at a metal chair that was scooted into their computer desk.

"We could…" Edward answered. "Or…" He looked up at an old clown clock hanging on their wall (Which had been nice looking before Edward and violet drew sharp teeth on it and covered it's eyes in red marker.) "Say…School should be getting out in a few minutes."

"Yeah?" Violet said, suddenly feeling depressed and sounding testy. "What's your point?"

"Well, if it wasn't for that little twerp we wouldn't be expelled. I say we go and make him pay for it." Edward's face was set at a half grin and half sneer. Violet looked at him dully.

"Edward," She started, snapping him out of the state quickly. Violet never called him by his real name when they were alone unless she was upset with him.

"It's your fault we got expelled today. You were the one choking the little dork.." Edward looked coolly at his sister.

"You can't blame me for this. Like your completely innocent!" He said, crossing his arms.

"I didn't say that…I'm just saying that if I were to blame someone, it would be pretty stupid to blame Gregory, since you obviously had him in a choke hold." Her voice had taken on a dangerous quality that Edward rarely heard used towards him.

"Hey! What are you taking his side for? Another second and you would have had Marion upside down and hanging from somewhere by his underwear…it was just bad timing."

"Bad timing! I told you she was coming! I swear, your so stupid!" Edward clenched his fists.

"You can't call me stupid. You got expelled from school too you know! Besides, why do you care so much?"

"Edward we're expelled! Mom doesn't know yet! If she finds out she's going to send us to boarding school in some town far away from here! She's been looking for an excuse to!" Edward looked like he was about to say something else, but faltered, and instead appeared to look out of the window cut into the wood.

"So what? This town blows anyway." He said quietly. Violet fell silent, dropping down into the chair and looking into the small computer they had set up to run some of the programs Edward had managed to download from various blocked websites.

"Yeah." She said. "I guess it does." She responded. They were both quiet for a moment.

"You know, this place was a lot better before. I mean, it wasn't great…but it was stand able." Edward said, crossing over to where Violet was sitting.

"Uh huh." Violet returned.

"Sorry I got us kicked out of school Shock." He said. Violet was vaguely amused at how pained Edward sounded when he apologized. As though he was being tortured to do so. A wicked grin that made her look very much like her old self crossed her face.

"Gross Lock, what are you apologizing for?" She said while standing up and punching him lightly in the stomach.

"You trying to make me sick or something?" Edward returned her grin and pushed her. She nearly tripped over the chair.

"Just payback for making me sick every day for having to look at you." He said. He lunged backwards to avoid getting belted in the gut a second time.

"Hey come on…save some for Justin, he should be heading back to his ugly little family by now." Violet smiled wickedly.

"First I think we owe Mr. Gregory bit of payback for this extended school vacation." Edward laughed evilly before heading out the door of the funhouse towards the rope ladder. Violet followed.

"Think we need the bat?" Edward asked.

"Nah, I have a better idea." Violet returned with a bit of malevolent laughter of her own.

Alright, this chapter isn't quite as large as I wanted it to be…but at least I'm done with it. I was going to write a bit more…but I'm not entirely sure what Violets going to do with Gregory (I kind of wrote myself into an unfortunate place when I implied it was "better" then the bat…because personally I find a bat in an evil child's hands quite frightening)

Anyway, the next chapter should get the story moving at a bit of a quicker pace. I hope you enjoyed this one. Please Review!


	7. What Did You Have In Mind?

Chapter Six

When Violet put her mind to it she could be quite evil. And as anyone can tell you, people who have a decent mind, and use it for all of the wrong things are the worst sort of bullies there are. Gregory had been quite mistaken when he had thought that being stuck somewhere with her would be better then being stuck somewhere with her brother. This mistake was made simply because in the past, he had never came upon a bully who was intelligent. For this (Up to this point anyhow.) he was or had been quite lucky.

Edward had started off back to the school when he felt his collar pulled from behind. He stopped and looked at his sister curiously, not to mention with a hint of aggravation.

"Come on, we need to hurry up! School has to be close to ending right about now!" He shook his collar from her clutch.

"That doesn't matter."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? If we're going to do something to the little dork we have to hurry up." Edward said impatiently.

"It doesn't matter…" Violet started, interrupting her brother before he could say anything else. "Because we aren't going to the school." Edward raised his brow.

"We aren't?" He asked, looking a bit confused, and to Violet, even more stupid then usual.

"No."

"Well…" Edward continued. "Where are we going?"

"To the old McGovern place." She said, motioning in the direction away from the school. Edward wrinkled his forehead.

"Gregory's house? Wouldn't catching him at the school be a lot easier?" Edward said, while looking in the direction of the school.

"We're not trying to catch him." Violet grabbed Edwards collar a second time and began pulling him in the direction of the house.

"What are we doing then?" He asked her, allowing himself, for the time being anyway to be led along.

"You'll see." Violet answered with a grin.

Gregory walked home slowly, moving in a manner that made him look quite disheartened. His first day of school hadn't been as bad as it could have been, but was still not quite what he would have considered as a good day. After Marion had quickly shown him to his homeroom he had disappeared. After a while, he was sure the boy had been trying to avoid him. He wasn't sure why and when he came right out and asked, Marion told him it was nothing personal, he just didn't want to get into further trouble with Edward and Violet. After getting them kicked out, he was sure they'd probably be after Gregory in time…he didn't want to be around when they did. This did not comfort Gregory very much at all.

The day didn't get much better after that. A lot of the people looked at him funny. He already had felt like an outsider in this bizarre town…but today at school was the first time he actually felt unwelcome. He was beginning to see what Justin and his family went through. It was obvious that these people, whether under the lead of Hector Skellington, or under the lead of Jeffery King stuck together…and did not much like it when other people who didn't belong there thrust themselves upon their beloved town. Most of the younger adults seamed nice enough though, and some of the kids…but Gregory ran into quite a few of the older boys and girls and some of the elderly teachers only to find that most of their opinions towards outsiders were quite strong. He didn't see this in their speech…but felt it in their demeanor none the less. It made him uncomfortable.

Gregory shifted the weight of his book bag from one shoulder to the other and looked down the street. His house rose up over the road as he made his way up a small hill. His aunt was in the front yard, she seamed to be looking for something. Gregory rose his brow as he came upon her.

"What are you doing Ann- uh Aunt Anne?" He asked curiously. She didn't pay him a lot of mind, but rather almost tore a bush out of its roots in an attempt to look under it.

"Aunt?" Gregory asked again.

"Oh, that darn cat has gotten away from me. The back door must have blown open while I was taking a nap and she got out. Now I'm trying to look for her." Gregory put his bag down on the cold ground.

"Did you look everywhere in the house?" he asked, trying to sound concerned about the missing Siamese cat…but only just barely pulling it off.

"Of course I did, she's not there." His aunt suddenly looked up at him.

"Although I didn't bother to check in your room. You could do that for me real quick." Gregory nodded while picking his bag off of the yard and heading inside.

He went up the stairs slowly under the weight of his new school books. Since he was new he did not yet have a locker, and there fore had to lug them around everywhere. It was making his back quite sore.

When he got upstairs he looked to the right, down the hallway where his bedroom was and paused at the top of the stairway. His door was open. He frowned.

"Oh you stupid cat!" He said. He headed to the door and pulled it open quickly, hoping to scare the Siamese cat out of her mind.

"You know not suppose to be in here you furry sack of-" Gregory's bag dropped to the floor. His eyes were widened in shock as he stared in at what had been his room. It now resembled to Gregory as something of a site that had just been rather furiously torn apart by a hurricane or tornado…whichever caused the most damage. He didn't think a skinny Siamese cat could do this…the fact that she was practically the spawn of Hades set aside. His look of surprise turned to that of rage.

He shambled into the room, kicking his bag aside in the process. This gave him a nasty ache in his foot, but he barely noticed. When he got to the center of the room he began to look every which way for a sign. A sign of who had been there, what they might have ruined or taken…and where they were now. His eyes darted about furiously, marking things that he could see were still there…horribly out of place…but still not absent. His eyes fell upon a shelf behind his bed, then darted to the corner near his bedroom door. They widened. He turned his eyes slowly back to the shelf…a feeling of panic welling up inside him…and the dull ache of angry tears forming in his throat. He walked slowly to his bed, stepping onto it and walking across it to the wooden shelf. When he got there, he slipped his hand across the top, feeling for something. His hand came back empty. He lowered himself onto the bed, his breathing had become harsh in his ears.

The box, which held all of his most prized memories and most valued things…the one his father had given him…was gone.

Suddenly a stone came crashing though his window. He let out a yell and almost fell of his bed as it did. It came to land by his foot, for a few minutes he did nothing…just staring at it stupidly. Then a voice came from outside, making his blood turn warm beneath his skin.

"Oh Gregory!" He rose to his feet and crossed over to the window…there was a look of fury written across his face…and for once he did not care whether or not the person he directed it to enjoyed it or not. He was mad.

Down beneath his window, Edward and Violet stood looking up at him with devilish grins painted on their faces. Edward was carrying Apathy in his harsh clutches…but Gregory barely noticed this. What he did notice was the small wooden box in Violets hands. He was vaguely aware of his own fingernails digging into his palms…as his chubby hands were clenched into fists.

"Give…me back…my box." He said through gritted teeth. His words sounded very dangerous…and his voice had taken on a quality he had never heard before. If his aunt had been there…she would have said that he sounded quite a bit more like Heathers son now, no sir, no girlishness in that voice.

Violet's grin seamed to falter for a moment…just a moment mind you.

"What? This old thing?" Violet asked, holding it up for him to see. He grin widened.

"Give it back or else." He said, this time more quietly. Edward called up.

"Going to have to speak up Greg, what was that you said?" he asked cuffing a hand over his ear in a cliché gesture.

"I SAID GIVE IT BACK OR ELSE!" Gregory yelled down. Violet and Edward looked at each other then burst into laughter. Gregory was aware that his face was probably turning bright red. Edwards laughter was abruptly cut off when Apathy bit him hard in the arm.

"Ow darn it!" Edward said while throwing the cat from his arm. As soon as she hit the ground she darted off around the house.

"Oh you stupid-" Edward lunged for her as she did. Violet ignored all of this. She was still holding the box up so Gregory could see.

"Relax Greg…we weren't going to do anything with it…but it is AWFULLY dusty. Perhaps we could clean it up a bit." Her grin turned very cold and evil. Gregory's look of rage vanished to that of panic, which only seamed to encourage her.

"And what better place but Skeleton Lake." Gregory's eyes widened so much he thought they might pop right out of his skull. He stared, horrified as she waved the box in her hand.

"Don't you dare." He said softly. She smiled, and after an agonizing pause, darted off out of the view of Gregory's window. Gregory began to run.

His second trip to Skeleton lake was a sort of foggy one. He indistinctly remembered running down the stairs and almost knocking his aunt down as he darted out the front door, barely hearing her cry of surprise and questioning yells of where he thought he was going. He was also dimly conscious of seeing Apathy dart out in his path at least once. All he kept his eyes on was the retreating shadow of the horrible girl he was chasing. His teeth were barred and his face was set…and anyone who saw him at that moment would have found him quite threatening…and perhaps would have had to re think their earlier assumptions of him not being fit for their town.

When Gregory saw the Bridge coming up ahead of him, and the Pumpkin House rising from the darkness as a great shadow made from some other worldly beast he slowed down a bit. His eyes fell on Violet who was stopping half way across the bridge. His fists were clenched again. He stood at the edge of the structure and looked across at her. She was smiling. He decided right then that he hated her and he wanted her smile wiped off of her lips permanently.

"Give it back to me." He said, slowly crossing the bridge towards her. He wasn't sure where Edward was, and did not much care. All he cared about was his box.

"Make me." She said childishly, while holding it over the side. Gregory gritted his teeth so hard that they made a horrible creaking noise in his ears.

Suddenly, he charged at her, catching her entirely off guard…given the surprised look that flashed across her face as he slammed into her. His elbow made a connection with her stomach, and he heard her let out a harsh breath followed by a struggling gasp for air. His right hand scratched at the one she was holding his box in. As it did, her hand let go. Gregory watched in horror as his box tumbled over the side…it seamed to take a long time to fall, both he and Violet watched it as it did.

He looked at her angrily, seeing a look of wide eyed surprise on her face. He didn't care whether she meant to let go of the box or not. This fact didn't change that it was because of her that it was down there, sinking into the dark waves of the cold shadowy lake.

"You are going to pay for that!" He said, fighting her with even more anger then before. For a moment she didn't seam to know quite what to do. Her momentary shock worked in Gregory's favor. He got at least two good blows in, out of shear luck before she regained her composure and countered.

Violet pushed Gregory as hard as she could, sending him stumbling backwards against the edge of the bridge. Gregory flailed for a moment, an almost comical expression of horror crossing his face when he realized what was about to happen. A moment later he joined his box, as he went plunging into Skeleton Lake…for the second time that week.

Violet stood on the bridge for a moment longer. She could feel a dull ache running up her stomach and across her eye where Gregory had elbowed and hit her. She breathed deeply, and was surprised to find she was actually pretty shaken up. She had thought the box was probably important to him…given it's special placement in his room, and the quality of the box itself…but she hadn't thought he'd try to nearly kill her in an attempt to retrieve it. As she crossed back over the bridge she wondered lightly what had been in it…to make him so angry. The box itself had been locked…so she hadn't gotten to check what had lain inside for herself.

Gregory struggled for a few moments in the water before finally crawling onto the same small rocky earth he had, not so long before. He coughed and spat out a bit of water as he did.

For a moment he just sat…regaining his breath…then, when his fatigue passed he stood and kicked at the side of the hill and anger.

"Darn you! DARN IT! AGH!" He yelped out in pain when his shoe cracked and his big toe came in contact with the rocky incline instead. He cursed loudly, then, at the risk of hurting himself further…or being heard…he quieted down.

He sat on the ground, still in a terribly grouchy manner. For a few minutes he sat there, folding his hands around anything he could throw into the water to aid his fit of dying rage. When he began to run out of things he stopped, and rested his chin in his palms. Tears of anger were running down his cheeks. He wiped a them absently.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something white. He turned in that direction, only to see a small piece of paper floating on top of the waves. He reached for it and plucked it from the murky water. In his hand he turned the piece over…curious as to see what it was.

It was a picture he had taken with his parents a couple years before. He felt a deep loneliness creep into his chest…with it came a chill brought on by a gust of wind, as the night loomed near. The photo blurred as fresh tears ran down his cheeks. He wiped them away immediately and tucked the small photo into his pocket.

Gregory stood up, his loneliness was slowly being replaced by a look of determination. Before climbing up the hill he tossed one last look in the waves, in case any of his other things were washing up. Nothing did. He began to climb.

Justin was used to getting back home at dusk on school nights. Today had been a good day. His father was actually able to pick him up. Apparently the Wayward kids hadn't gotten to his new tires yet.

Justin told his dad to go ahead and head inside. He had to gather his school stuff up. Jeff nodded and told him not to take too long before he went into the warm glow of the King House. Justin watched him go. When his father was gone Justin's smile slipped from his face.

He gathered his stuff up grumpily. He hadn't seen Gregory since he darted from their house a day or two before. If Gregory didn't cooperate with him, he would have to come up with an entirely different way to get back at Edward and Violet. He thought it a terrible shame to waste such a fantastic plan just because the little pudgy dork wasn't willing to oblige to it. He threw one of his school books into his bag with perhaps a bit too much force, he missed and it fell out of the car, tumbling onto the driveway and causing all of the papers tucked inside it to scatter across the his yard. He cursed and slid out of the car to pick them up.

He was leaned over the last one when he froze upon seeing something out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards it while letting out a terrified yell, which was already out before he could stifle it.

Justin straightened, looking horrified even after he recognized who was standing at the end of his yard.

Gregory was soaked, his hair was sticking about wildly and falling into his eyes, which were quite red along the whites and filled with a dull anger. He looked scary.

"G- Gregory, W- What are you doing here?" Justin asked, his voice coming out far more shaky then he would have liked.

"You said you had a plan to get back at Edward and Violet." Gregory said softly, his words mingled with grief and anger.

"Yeah." Justin said softly, still a little wary of the boy in front of him…but slowly regaining his composer.

"Well…" Gregory said softly.

"Well what?"

"Well what did you have in mind?"

hurray! Another chapter finished. Alright! Now I can finally get into the more important parts of the story. Finally.

To Ladybirdbuzz (Who may be the only one reading this anyway.) : Yeah, having him tied up in the Pumpkin House would have been a good idea. I was tempted to do so, and probably would have if it hadn't been for the fact that doing so would mess up future chapters.

The idea I did use is thanx to my sister. Sometimes emotional pain can do a far lot more to someone then physical pain could ever accomplish.

Please Review! Thanks.


	8. The Pumpkin House

Chapter Seven

Pumpkin House

Gregory sighed and rested his chin in his palm. He heard a loud sound from his right, as the Kings wall clock, which was covered in a number of unnecessary things, marked the hour. He was in Justin's living room, waiting for him to return from a phone call from one of his relatives. Currently he found himself sitting in a couch that looked quite expensive, but was as ugly as sin…as many really expensive things usually are.

Gregory was getting extremely bored, and quite impatient. After the first ten minutes he had tried to entertain himself by tapping his fingers on the glass coffee table in several rhythms and tunes…this hadn't kept him busy for long.

He then pulled out the photo of his parents and him. He found himself carrying it around with him wherever he went now. He just couldn't seem to find a good place to put it after losing his box. He had tried to leave it on his shelf or in his wardrobe…or perhaps even in a shoe box, but every time he thought he had found some place to put it he would get paranoid about losing it again. It was, now, the only truly emotional thing he had left from his mom and dad. He cursed Edward and Violet under his breath.

"Okay," Justin said as he walked in the room. "Sorry about that, Stan and George, cousins on my moms side. They were going to come down in a couple of weeks, but decided on maybe coming a bit sooner. Which actually works pretty great for us. If this plan of mine doesn't work, I guarantee you that one of them could give those rotten brats a serious beating." Gregory nodded. He really couldn't care less how big Justin's cousins were. After he had cooled down he decided that he'd rather not take the violent course of action when dealing with the Wayward kids. He wanted to hurt them where they hurt him…or as close as one could get when dealing with two children who don't seam to have a conscience or any human emotions. They took away something that meant a lot to him…so he'd take away something that meant a lot to them…in this case…their pride, reputation, and perhaps their nerve.

"We'll only do that if the plan fails miserably of course." Justin said, perhaps after seeing Gregory's less then enthusiastic attitude at the idea of beating Edward and Violet senseless.

"Yeah…" Gregory said. "So…how are we going to go about this?" He asked curiously. Justin had gone over his plan with him the night before. He had felt a little wary about it at the time…but in the end decided his fear was quite irrational. There were…after all, no such thing as Haunted Houses.

Besides, it was a good a plan. Him and Justin were both technically outsiders to the town. Neither of them really believed in all of the superstitious nonsense that the rest of the towns residents seamed to live by. In this aspect the whole plan made perfect sense. Justin had found the thing that the two monstrous children were afraid of, why not run with it.

"Simple." Justin began. "We just need to lure Edward and Violet into the house…then scare the crap out of them, it shouldn't be too hard…if we get them good enough they'll run away screaming. We spread it around school, they lose their reputation, and from then on…who knows."

"Ok," Said Gregory. "I get that part…what I mean is…How are we going to get into the house?"

Justin gave him a weary look.

"Oh please, that shouldn't be too hard, we'll just pick the lock…you know…break in." Gregory looked at him uncertainly.

"But…what about the owner?" He asked.

"Oh, he won't be a problem. I saw him leave again this morning, and he is almost never around. It'll be months before he returns." Gregory nodded. He sighed and searched his brain for any other possible things that could go wrong.

"Ok, but what happens if any of the rest of the town sees us?" Justin was ready for him.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. No ones lived near that house in twelve years…well…there's that Stiltz guy…but people think he's crazy…anything else?"

"Yeah," Gregory said quietly. "Are you sure this is going to work…I mean, you know…Edward and Violet won't…like come after us and beat the crap out of us…I mean…this will hurt them right?" Justin smiled knowingly. Gregory found this quite irritating for some reason, but decided that if they were going to work together that he should probably at least try to like Justin…or at least try to stand him.

"Gregory, let me ask you something, let's say you have a man who, oh, say, works his whole life to make as much money as he possibly can."

"Ok…" Gregory said, raising his eye brow. He hated it when people answered questions without actually answering them.

"And lets say this man ends up having a lot of money."

"Yeah…" Gregory said dully.

"Well, this guy lives only for his money. It's all he knows…he hasn't got a clue how to live any other way."

"Is this some kind of metaphor or something?" Gregory asked. "Because I'm not to great with metaphors." Justin ignored him.

"Well what happens when the man goes bankrupt?" Justin asked. He stared at Gregory for a moment who shrugged.

"He'd be upset…I guess."

"Yes, He wouldn't know what to do with himself! Edward and Violet are like that…except…with causing pain and anguish and stupid senseless violence." Justin finished the last line rather quickly.

Gregory nodded, trying to hide his impatience.

"You see, All Edward and Violet have is being violent and stupid. It's all they do. When they don't have anyone else to beat on…they beat on each other…the only respect they get is caused by the fear they ensue in people. And that, along with their image, is exactly what we're trying to damage. If we take away the only thing they have…they won't know what to do with themselves. I'm quite looking forward to seeing them suffer, personally."

Gregory watched him for a moment. Throughout his speech two thoughts that could seriously ruin their partnership entered his mind. One was that Justin was probably a total psychopath. The other, the one that Gregory was far less fond of was that he had actually felt a twinge of pity for the Wayward kids, that was, if what Justin was saying was really true. If it wasn't, then he'd go back to not caring…but if Edward and Violet had nothing except what he was aiming to take away from them…well…that was kind of sad.

Gregory decided that he wouldn't let any amount of pity, whether it was right to feel or not, ruin his plans in any way. He was still angry at Violet for throwing his box into the lake, and he decided that since these were probably not the sort of bullies one could just pay off…he'd have to pay them off in a different sort of way. He didn't want to spend any longer in Pumpkin Town with a shadow as great as the Wayward kids hanging over him the entire time.

"Hello Gregory…" He was snapped out of his thoughts as one of Justin's small and…somewhat feminine hands passed in front of his face.

"Huh…what?" Gregory asked.

"I just asked you if you understood what I meant." He said, a little irritatingly.

"Wha? Oh, yeah! I got it…right." He said quickly, mostly to avoid hearing the metaphor again.

"Alright then. So...lets get going." Gregory snapped his head up curiously.

"Go where?" Justin sighed.

"To the Pumpkin House!"

"Now?" Gregory asked wildly.

"Yes now! It's the weekend, we're not doing anything, I'll grab a couple tools to get into the house and we'll check it out…you know…feel out our battle field and all that stuff." He nodded to himself and then left the room. Gregory watched him go.

He wished very much that there was another way to do this.

"Oh well." He said quietly to himself before getting up off the couch.

It was a rather warm day for the month of October. Gregory walked a little ways ahead of Justin who was walking at what Gregory thought was a prissily slow speed. He felt a warm breeze rustle through his untidy hair, and smiled a little, thinking vaguely that it was a shame he didn't have any friends. Today would have been a terrific day for hanging out.

"Wait up Greg." Came Justin's voice from behind. He sounded irritated. Gregory stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"Hurry up." He said, impatience playing into his voice. Justin gave him a dark look that he seamed to try to hide quickly with a terribly false looking smile.

They walked on like that for a bit until they reached the end of town. Then both of them slowed down considerably. And upon trying not to look culpable, the guilt began to show on their faces. Gregory started to wonder what sort of trouble he might get in if he was caught trying to break into someone's house. Especially if that house had once belonged to the towns beloved owner. After a while he tried not to think about it.

When they reached the end of the road, and the Pumpkin House began to tower above them Gregory caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned quickly, and jumped when his gaze met with a man who was sitting on his front porch, sipping at Iced tea. The man lowered his glass and watched the boys suspiciously.

"Justin?" Gregory whispered.

"What?" Justin said while looking at him oddly for lowering his voice.

"Someone's watching us." Justin looked startled for a moment then followed Gregory's gaze to the older man.

"Oh." He said. "Don't worry about him, that's just Mr. Stiltz. He's the one off his nut…remember?" Gregory nodded, remembering what Justin had said just a half an hour before.

"Just ignore him." Justin added before continuing to walk.

"Alright…" Gregory said hesitantly before following him.

The man watched them as they went. He emptied his glass of iced tea then slowly stood from his rocking chair.

"Foolish kids." He whispered as he went inside, closing his screen door behind him.

The Pumpkin House had looked big to Gregory on the bridge over Skeleton lake, but now that he was there, entering the gate to the front yard, he saw that it was not so big at all…it was enormous. The house was made mostly of brick, which had once been black but had faded over the years to a dark gray. The whole face was covered in windows that made Gregory thing about the sort of castles one found in a Dracula movie. At the very top on one side of the house the windows became cathedral style. And to top the whole thing off the roof was made of deathly black shingle and all sides of it came to a point giving the house a top one could cut one's finger on. .

Gregory followed Justin down the front walk, which was buried under a crimson wave of autumn leaves.

"Wow." He whispered breathlessly. To Justin, the sight appeared to have been wasted. He gave the house a quick look, then turned his gaze off to the side somewhere. Gregory had taken it for boredom at first. But when he actually looked at Justin what he saw was unease.

"Let's go around." Justin said. "You know…to the back…" Gregory nodded. He wasn't too thrilled at the idea of breaking into the house period, but if he was going to do it…he'd prefer it be from the back, instead from the front where anyone could see them. This was, after all, common sense.

The back of the house wasn't quite as impressive as the front, but it still made any other place Gregory had ever seen look dull by comparison. It was covered in leaves and several tree's which twisted and winded with each other. The fence stood tall and was covered in ivy. In the corner Gregory saw a very old sort of well, which induced in him a shiver, well's were always the worst sort of thing one could find at a haunted house, what with their seemingly endless drop down into the still darkness. Gregory looked away when he began to get nervous, and focused on the back door instead. It was entirely glass, and had an odd and intriguing design on it that made one think of broken mirrors, or cracked windows. Justin looked at it tastelessly.

"Why can't people just have a proper door?" He said mostly to himself. Gregory, who was admiring the door gave him a tired look.

"Not everyone wants to be like you Justin." He said before stepping onto the small porch the door was on. He felt Justin's gaze burning into the back of his neck.

"You know, if your going to side with this town and their completely obsessive need to be opposite of ever thing or behavior that is normal, you can just go home now." He said coldly. Gregory gave Justin a peculiar look.

"Relax, I wasn't aware that this had anything at all to do with the town." He said, his voice edging with sarcasm. Justin's lips seamed to tighten. Then, he seamed to realize where he was, and what he was doing and he calmed down a bit.

"Sorry," He said. Which actually did catch Gregory off guard. "I'm just sort of tired of people ragging on me because I'm not into all of this Pumpkin stuff." Gregory nodded uncomfortably before turning back to the door.

"No problem." He said quietly. "It isn't like I am…so…how are we going to get in here?" He asked. Justin stepped up beside him and opened the tool box he had brought with him.

"Easy…" he said, before getting to work.

He began pulling things from his tool box that Gregory had never seen. He brought them up to the door and tried a number of things that were suppose to open it. After a while Gregory began to suspect he had no idea what he was doing.

"Uh, Justin…where did you learn how to do this?" He asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh, one of my cousins taught me. Sorry it's taking so long, I'm a little rusty." Gregory nodded. He decided he didn't ever want to meet Justin's cousins. Something about the way he described them made them sound sort of like convicts or something.

"Did your cousins give you the case too?" Justin shook his head as a piece of his tool broke off in his hand. He cursed.

"No, I swiped this from Edward when he was in detention." He said.

"Oh." Gregory said quietly before looking away and examining the yard again. By the time Justin finally got the lock he had gotten rather sick of it.

"Alright! Got it! Ok, you go ahead." He said, while pulling open the glass door.

"Why do I have to go in first?" He asked quickly. Justin's lips tightened.

"Because, someone has to go inside, that's you, and someone has to stay out here and keep watch, that'll be me. I'll give you a signal or something if I see someone." Gregory looked at him for a moment in disbelief.

"You not coming too?" He asked wildly.

"No, we can't both go in, someone has to make sure no one's going to catch us." Gregory stood on the front walk for a moment, wishing, not for the first time that his aunt wouldn't have brought him to this town…nothing good was seaming to come of it.

"Fine!" He said grudgingly, before stepping into the house.

"Remember, just find things that'll be useful when we get Edward and Violet!" Gregory waved a hand back at him in an aggravated gesture before he retreated deeper into the darkness of the Pumpkin House.

Outside, Justin closed the door. He smiled to himself. So far things were going very well. The tough part, of course, would be luring Edward and Violet into the house, but he thought when the time came that they could do it with fairly no oversights.

Gregory was making an excellent pawn. After he did the stuff that Justin couldn't, he planned on dropping him. It should be easy. Then he would take the whole thing from there and things between him and the Wayward kids would end. He had said he wanted to scare them but he wanted much more then that…he decided that they would pay for all of the agony they put him through and that meant that he needed to do more then humiliate them a little….much much more. Justin laughed softly to himself.

Tick Tock Tick Tock. The black stillness of what Gregory assumed was the kitchen was being broken by the sound of a large grandfather clock. Gregory looked at it uneasily as he walked past it, his eyes fell to the small glass door on it's base. Behind it were the chains one needed to pull in order to keep it winded and the pendulum moving. What sort of man who was never around kept his clock winded? Gregory shrugged and kept moving throughout the kitchen nervously.

On every side of him pieces of furniture rose up looking very foreign in the darkness, as they glittered lightly in the light that was cast from the door to the backyard. Gregory looked about for a light switch and was devastated when he couldn't find one. Alright, Gregory thought to himself, what sort of man kept his clock running when he wasn't around AND didn't have any lights in the house. He frowned and decided to just keep moving, he could at least get to a room with more windows.

The next room looked like a living room…or sitting room, whichever one called it in a house that by all rights could've been a castle. It was huge. The ceiling walls rose up exceedingly. Above the living room Gregory saw a balcony that looked down at it from upstairs. The staircase that one took to get there winded about in a spiral. His eyes wiped across the room, taking it in. He took a few steps backwards, trying to get a better look at the upper floor when he heard a SWOOSH sound behind him. He spun around quickly to find a large stone fireplace behind him. The fire had lit itself. He stared at this stupidly for a moment before progressing towards it. His legs suddenly felt very heavy as he approached the hearth.

"No problem." He whispered to himself. "There's no such thing as haunted houses. There's got to be a reasonable explanation."

He leaned over cautiously, examining the flames. Underneath them a piece of wood was being eaten away. Gregory touched the stone of the fireplace. It felt cool under his fingers. It was real stone. He felt along it for a little while before feeling something on the side. Knobs or switches. He pulled on and nearly jumped out of his skin when another large Swooshing sound ensued and the orange dancing flames became a surreal bluish color. He peered slowly over to the switches he had found, and flipped another. The fire died.

"It's mechanical. Holy crap." He said softly. The awe he felt in light of his discovery died quickly when he heard another sound from behind him. There was a scraping on the floor that sounded vaguely like quiet footsteps. He turned, trying to see what it was, but couldn't make out much f anything in the darkness. The footsteps stopped. He decided it was time to find a light. If this guy had a mechanical fireplace then he had to have a light switch somewhere.

He looked about the room, on the far wall was a box that looked a little like the gray sort that one found in a basement, which ran the electricity for the whole house. Gregory crossed over to it curiously. He carefully opened the tiny door and peered in. There were hundreds of switches. He put his chubby hand to one cautiously, deciding whether or not it was a good idea to be messing with something that he was not at all familiar with. He heard another scrape and something that sounded like a low growl, and decided to take his chances with the box. He flipped the switch. Nothing happened.

Upstairs, above the winding staircase, through a long hall and a series of doors that one would find locked no matter what time a day it was or who was home, a light in a room far to the right of the house turned on. Inside the room, which looked to be a sort of office, a man was awoken from an afternoon nap, taken obviously by mistake, (Given the fact that he was sitting at a desk and still had a pencil in his hand.) by the sudden illumination. He sat up and blinked sleepily, while looking about in confusion.

Gregory shrugged and began to try some of the others, he got through five before he actually saw the result of one. An overhead light came to life above him. He sighed in relief. At the same time the growl from behind him became louder. He turned in time to be scared half to death as something jumped out at him from behind one of the couches in the center of the room.

Gregory yelled loudly before stepping to his right and tripping over a foot rest. He came crashing to the floor. When he raised his head his eyes met with that of a very small dog. He was suddenly very glad he had gone into the house by himself. The dog's growls became friendly barks as Gregory struggled to sit up. The dog peered at him curiously.

"Jeez!" Gregory whispered harshly. "Scared me half out of my mind!"

It reached about up to Gregory's knees and was almost completely white except for a ring of black around its left eye. Gregory saw a tag handing around the dogs neck. He reached out cautiously and took the tiny silver charm that hung at the end of the black collar in his hand. It was a pumpkin. He was hit by a wave of irony. He remembered what Mr. Venison had said about the guy who owned this house and the Kings. He had said even Jeff and his family were more cut out for Kingston then the new owner of the Pumpkin house, and yet he had a dog that he put a pumpkin collar on. He leaned closer to read the tiny and rather lovely print across the pumpkins surface. Zero it read.

The dog seamed rather friendly, and probably did not make the best watch dog, considering someone had just broken into his masters house and he was currently doing nothing but soaking Gregory's palm with his tongue. Zero began to bark loudly. As Gregory attempted to wipe his hand of the dogs saliva he was hit by a thought that made him uneasy.

What sort of man wound his clock up, had his fireplace turned on so it would burst into life with the first sign of movement and left his dog alone in the house…if he wasn't going to be there. A terrible realization hit Gregory even before he heard a sound come from upstairs and a man's voice drift down from the hallway.

"Zero! What are you barking about?"

Then Gregory heard footsteps.

Ah another chapter finished. Sorry about the cliffhanger, but, I needed to find a good place to end it, and this was as good of a place as any. Please review!

To Ladybirdbuzz: Thank you very much for the extremely generous review on Chapter One of The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise. I was under the impression that I had really screwed up on the first chapter after writing it. After going through it once I refused to read it again because I was afraid it sounded terrible.


	9. The Owner Of Pumpkin House

Chapter Eight:

The Owner Of Pumpkin House

Gregory panicked. He looked around desperately, trying to find somewhere to hide. Finally, as the footsteps neared, he dove behind the couch. Under his breath, he cursed Justin for being wrong, not noticing as a tiny piece of paper fell from his pocket.

He pressed himself against the couch, almost as though he was trying to sink into it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the dog look at him curiously then happily head towards him.

"No, go away!" He whispered furiously, while edging Zero away with his foot. At the same time a voice picked up from the bottom of the stairway, edging nearer to him.

"Zero!" Thankfully, the dog moved towards the voice.

"There you are." Gregory listened as the mans footsteps stopped. He held his breath.

The man leaned down, as the small dog leapt at it's master happily. He ran his long thin fingers through the dogs fir, before picking him up and giving him a stern look.

"What have I taught you about silence!" The man said in a hushed voice. "We aren't suppose to be here today remember?" In response the dog licked his face, and then, gave him a very smart look before wriggling out of his arms and walking back to the couch. The man shook his head, then looked up at the overhead light, which was burning brightly. His eyes narrowed as he cast a sideways glance to the silver box that hung on the wall.

"Hmmm" He put his thin fingers to his chin, but was brought abruptly out of his thoughts when Zero nudged his foot. He looked down. The dog had something in his mouth.

"What have you got there?" The man asked softly as he leaned forward and took the small piece of paper from Zero's teeth. He stood back up, and examined the Kodak shot in the light. In it were a man and a woman, and what the man assumed was there son. He looked at it carefully.

"Now," The man said slowly. "How did this get here."

Behind the couch Gregory was just beginning to realize that he was in trouble. He cursed himself silently for turning the lights on, and even more so for dropping his photograph.

'Why! Why didn't I just leave it at home.' He thought furiously to himself. He could only hope that the man would leave long enough for him to get away. He doubted the opportunity would come up. Not too many people discovered they had an intruder in their house and then just decided to let them go. Gregory tightened his lips and wished, for what must have been the fiftieth time since he moved to this neighborhood, that he was back home.

He was just considering turning himself in, just standing up, apologizing and hoping for the best, when he realized, he couldn't hear anyone else in the room. He listened carefully, to be sure, thinking that perhaps, the man was just trying to be quiet himself, so that whoever was in his house couldn't hear him. This illusion was broken when the overhead light turned off, and Gregory heard departing footsteps, getting quieter as they disappeared up the stairs.

He waited a moment in the dark, bathed in silence, before risking to move. He stood. There was no one there. Gregory let out a deep sigh of relief that ended with Gregory deciding that perhaps he didn't want to get Violet and Edward back so bad after all…at least, not in this way.

He had just began to depart from the way he had come in when he saw a tiny white photo lying by a large oak doorway in the corner of the room, right next to the power box. He approached it, and plucked it from the floor, and upon turning it in his small chubby hand, saw that it was his. He stared at it for a moment, knowing he should have been glad that the man had just dropped it, but not feeling so. Instead, he felt a certain wariness set itself into his chest. He heard the approaching sound of footprints, very close, not up the stairs at all, and knew he had made a mistake. He turned to the oak door, the only place he could get to very quickly and yanked it open. When he closed it behind him, and was bathed in a terrible darkness…he knew he had made his second mistake. He knew going down the stairs, instead of just going back through the door, and facing the owner first hand, had been his third.

As Gregory felt his way down the stairs he began to wonder where he was. He supposed, it was some sort of basement. This didn't comfort him…basements rarely had exits. Along his descent he felt against the cold stone wall for a light switch, he felt none, and was not surprised. He imagined that the switch that illuminated this room was with the others, at the top of the stairs, through the door, in that gray box. He sighed, wishing he had brought a flashlight. He had just got to the bottom of the stairs, when he felt something brush past him. He froze, and hesitantly reached out his hand. Nothing.

After a few moments he started forward again, feeling glad as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He sighed with relief, wondering if it was not possible for him to just hide down there until he thought he had a good chance of getting away. He thought he might be able to pull it off.

Gregory sat on the bottom stair, and took a deep breath. Beside him, in the darkness, he felt a small square piece of parchment. Because it was so dark, he could not see what was on it. Without thinking, he pocketed it, looking in front of him the whole time.

That was when the room came alive.

It hit Gregory so abruptly that he cried out, flinging his hands in front of his face.

It was horrible, a bright, blinding light flashed in Gregory's eyes, making them ache horribly. A strobe light. Possibly one of Gregory's least favorite so called spooky decorations. It had been so ever since the time his father had taken him to a haunted house which had had one going off periodically in every room. Gregory had gotten flustered and had gotten quite disoriented, so that in the end, his father had ended up having to take him back out through the entrance. That had been a long time ago, and he had of course been younger then, but had ever since tried his best to ignore strobe lights, for as much of the same reason he ignored the water, social events like dances, picking groups, and really huge kids with attitude problems. He didn't like things that made him look and feel like a total dork.

He was alone now, or so he thought, but that was his only comfort. The strobe light began to go off periodically. Gregory cursed at it. That didn't help, but it made him feel a little better. When the light wasn't going off, other things began to happen, that made Gregory even more uneasy then just the strobe light made him. It began to come in a pattern that Gregory memorized. First, there was the strobe light, during which he covered his eyes with his arm, then there was a red light, this one he liked the best. Every time it came on he inched forward, trying to find somewhere to go. After that, there was a black light. Gregory wasn't fond of these either. Then complete darkness, then the strobe light again. For a few minutes Gregory made significant progress, but that was before the other stuff started happening.

First were the sounds. Moans, screams, laughter. From beside him, behind him, next to him, sometimes words that seamed to be breathing down his back. Gregory began to tense, and started to lose control of his nerves.

The sounds were joined by terrible apparitions. Grinning skulls, things flying at him with long silk flowing behind them, eyes staring at him from the walls, flickering figures walking next to him, in front of him, sometimes touching him, and once, Gregory was sure something beside him was on fire.

He began to run. It was all he could do to keep from screaming. Finally, as the red light illuminated his path, he saw something that brought back some of his fluttering sanity. A Cellar door, directly in front of him. Through the cracks in the wood he saw normal sane light, he ran for it, ignoring the strobe light and drowning out the sounds as best as he could.

When he saw Justin he would tell him that the deal was off, there was no way he was going back in that house. And he would say, that no matter what the boy wanted to believe about the town's eccentricities, he, Gregory, was at least convinced that The Pumpkin House was most certainly NOT a normal place.

Gregory was so determined to reach the door that he did not even notice the casket beside it. He was just about out, when the casket door was flung open. He did notice that…Gregory screamed as two long arms wrapped around him.

"Gotcha!" Cried a voice in his ear.

Gregory struggled in the mans grip, but found soon that it was useless. The man grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the center of the room. Gregory's eyes were shut tightly, against the terrible images still playing around the cold walls. He opened them, only when he heard the noises stop, and when, he noticed, that a light had been turned on. A normal light. A sane light.

When he opened them and looked up at his capturer he had to keep from screaming when his eyes encountered what in the pale light looked a bit like a dead man. This illusion faded as the after images of the darkness drained away. And what he assumed had been the piercing angry gaze of some crazed corpse, perhaps that of Hector Skellington himself turned out to be just a very pale, and very tired looked young man, who had terrible dark rings under his eyes, and who's black hair, which fell into his eyes, and cheeks, and stuck up just about everywhere along his head, seamed to Gregory, to be even worse then his own. There was a look of impatience on the mans face, as his two almost impossibly dark eyes peered down at Gregory with curiosity and irritation.

"Perhaps." The man began. "You would care to tell me, why you are in my house?" Gregory didn't answer. He just continued to stare up at the man, hardly believing that he had been caught.

"I…" He started, only to realize that he had no idea what to say. The man waited none the less.

"Uh…Sorry." Gregory said lamely. The man sighed in frustration and let go of Gregory's arm.

Gregory straightened, as he did he caught sight of the room for the first time in the light. His eyes widened in surprise. All around him were the most detailed and realistic Halloween decorations he had ever seen. The basement was huge, and covered corner to corner, wall to wall in haunted house like apparitions that looked so convincing that if one were to look at them for too long, they may be able to fool themselves into believing that they would come alive right in front of their face. Gregory turned to look at where the man had gone and found him standing just a few feet away, messing with various knobs and switches on a box that looked identical to the one he was at.

After a moment, the man looked satisfied and slammed the door shut. Then, he fixed Gregory with an annoyed look.

"Follow me." The man said before heading towards his stairway. Gregory followed him nervously, wondering what sort of trouble he had gotten himself into. At the top of the stairs, Zero waited patiently for his master. When the man passed him he leaned over a little and patted his ankle, before continuing on into another room. Zero followed him and Gregory into the kitchen. It was lit up now, making it look quite a bit different then it had before.

The man stopped at a phone. He put his hand on the receiver and fixed Gregory with stern look.

"Who should I be complaining to?" He asked. Gregory rose his brow.

"What do you…?" He was cut off.

"Where do you live?" Gregory nodded in understanding. Then, he was struck with embarrassment. He didn't know his address.

"I uh…don't know." The man rose his brow.

"You don't know your own address?" He asked. There was a note in his voice that suggested that he did not believe him. Gregory shook his head.

"But uh…everyone keeps calling it the old Mcgoverth place. So…"

"Mcgovern." The man corrected. "When did you move in?"

"A week ago." He answered. The man nodded.

"Why are you here?" He asked. Gregory didn't answer.

"Come on, you must have a reason. Was it a bet? Test of manhood?" The man seamed to scan Gregory's features. "Did someone trick you into coming here?" Gregory looked a little offended for a moment.

"No. I wanted…to scare someone" He said slowly. The man nodded, and then, not without amusement said;

"It's going well then…" Gregory narrowed his eyes.

At that moment, the doorbell rang on the far side of the house. For some reason when it did, the man looked a bit startled.

"Who could that be?" He whispered furiously under his breath. He stood up to his full height and pointed to the back door.

"Just go. As long as you aren't here again without permission, I'll pretend it never happened." Gregory nodded gratefully and hurried towards the back door.

"Thanks." Gregory said quickly. Before he got there, the man called him back.

"Oh, by the way, if you really are trying to scare someone, I suggest you come back in a couple days. As long as you don't break in I'll loan you a few things. But you cannot use the house. Sorry." The man then walked slowly to the front door.

Gregory thanked him again before hurrying trough to the backyard. When he was back out in the sunlight he let out a deep breath and did a quick look around. Justin was gone. He cursed him softly under his breath.

Gregory tucked his picture back into his pocket before slowly making his way around the house. When he got to the side he hid a little, so as not to be noticed by whoever was at the front door. He was about to proceed when he caught sight of the visitor.

The owner of the house had not answered yet, and Mr. King stood at the door nervously, looking about him and over his shoulder in constant cycles. Gregory inched a little forwards, a few feet away there was a crack in the fence he was crawling by which he had not noticed. As he watched Jeff, someone snuck up behind him and grabbed him around his shoulders. He cried out, and disappeared into the crack in the fence. Jeff snapped his head in the direction of the yell, but didn't see anything. He didn't look for long. The front door opened and Jeff turned to look at the owner of Pumpkin House. For a moment, his look of unease remained, then, it vanished, and his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing in town, Jack?" He asked icily.

Sigh. This chapter seamed like it took a while. I hope it sounds alright, I got stuck after Jack caught him because I wasn't entirely sure what to do after that. Anyway. I'll update soon, please review.


	10. A Whole Town Held In Contempt

I have no idea what this update will do to the story, but if it does do anything this note is just to tell you that I did make some changes to this chapter after posting. They are fairly small and do not matter much, but I realised leaving it the way it was made parts of the story a logical impossibility.

Chapter Nine:

A Whole Town Held In Contempt

Gregory was uncomfortably aware that the arms that had grabbed him from behind were of a considerable large size. If they hadn't been, he may have thought that they were Justin's. He had just enough time to worry about who the arms did belong to, when he was let go and spun around. It wasn't anyone he had ever met before…at least not directly.

Justin had called him Mr. Stiltz. He was a very large man, not in girth, but in size. He had broad shoulders and thick limbs. Gregory put him at the age of fifty, due to his slightly wrinkled face, faded eyes and white grey hair. At the sight of him, Gregory's unease did not lift, but worsened. Hadn't Justin said something about him being crazy?

"There you are you snot nosed…" The man didn't finish. He looked about Gregory curiously.

"Where's that King boy?" He asked. Gregory was quiet for a moment, intent on just staring at the man with wide nervous eyes. "Well?" The man said, after Gregory hadn't answered for a while.

"I…don't know sir." Gregory finally said. The man glared at him for a moment then grabbed him by the arm.

"Come on then, we're going to call your parents and tell them what you've been doing." Gregory felt a sinking feeling in light of those words. It wasn't that he had never been in trouble before, all children, for the most part anyway, get into some kind of trouble on occasion, but he had never done something so serious as breaking into someone else' house while they were presumed to be away. His aunt was not going to be happy.

Justin had slipped out around the time when he heard the dog barking followed by the seemingly distant owner's voice. He had left both Gregory and Edwards tool box behind. He had made a mistake, but it was alright, as long as he could get away unscathed. After all, that was what Gregory was for in the first place; someone he could use to make sure the place was safe and things were okay, before risking his own skin.

He went all the way around the house, and exited from the front, where the fence was not at, barely dodging the searching glance from Mr. Stiltz, who was standing on his porch and looking in his direction at the time. The man may be crazy, and therefore, get little regard in the neighborhood, but he could still tell someone he saw him there and Justin did not want that. When he got out of the old man's eye shot, he walked a little easier, going up the street like nothing was happening, and his day had been pretty uneventful. Both things, whether an act or not, changed when he got at the cross road.

"What luck!" He heard from his right. When he turned to look at who had spoken he was hit hard on the side of his head, and pushed heavily to the ground. He cried out in anger and pain. He felt a weight on his wrists as they were grabbed and held to his back.

"I just got back from a psychologist appointment that really frustrated me, now I can take my anger out on you." It was Edwards voice. Justin groaned and then began to wriggle from the bigger boys grasp. He didn't have any luck.

"Let me go you stupid freak show!" He screamed as he tried to sit up. Edward laughed in response to this and put more weight on his wrists. Justin screamed.

Behind them, Violet walked up slowly, and then casually leaned on a Stop sign nearby. She grinned a little as she watched her brother, and briefly wondered why no one had tried to throw him into some sort of asylum for boys for his attitude yet.

"Try not to overdue it today Edward, it's usually good to wait about a week after a shrink talks to you about your anger and excitability before you start breaking peoples wrists." Edwards smile faded.

"Good point." He got off of Justin, who got up as quickly as possible to prevent and further beating.

When Justin was up, he did a quick check to make sure his wrists weren't broken, then cast a fiery glance at the Wayward siblings.

"You guys are so dead! Your going to be sorry!" He screamed at them. They exchanged an amused look.

"Oh yeah?" Edward said sarcastically as he neared the boy, who grew nervous as he did. "What are you going to do to us?" Edward leaned over, stopping inches from Justin's face. Justin swallowed nervously. Even he knew when to shut up…well, some of the time anyway. Edward laughed softly.

"That's what I thought." He straightened.

"What do you think Violet. Think we should spare him today?" Edward asked, smiling evilly at the look that crossed the smaller boys face.

"Why?" Violet said. Edward shrugged.

"Out of the goodness of our hearts I guess." He said, his voice brimming with amusement.

"Hmmm…I didn't think we had any…" She said, nearing Justin, who cast a nervous look in her direction.

"You know, your right…I don't think we do." He made a fist and was about to bring it down on Justin who cringed away from it, but was stopped by a gruff and angry voice.

"You hit that boy again and I'll see to it that your mother sends you to a prison that doesn't care how young you are." Edward turned around, looking annoyed at being interrupted. Mr. Stiltz was walking towards them. On his right side, Gregory was half being dragged by the collar of his shirt. Violet turned behind Edward, displaying only a minute of confusion before her face broke out in a wicked smile.

"Hey Brutus, I see you made it past your front porch today."

"Shut up Violet!" Brutus countered. "And don't call me Brutus." He took Justin by the wrist and pulled him away from Edward.

"Aww, you used to let us call you Brutus." Violet said, making a false pouting face.

"That was before. Now your both horrible demonic children, and you will call me Mr. Stiltz." Justin pulled his arm from Brutus.

"Uck! don't touch me." Brutus gave him a sharp look, before grabbing his wrist again.

"I'm not here to rescue you or take orders from you boy. I'm here because your in a lot of trouble and I'm going to see to it that your parents receive note of what you two have been doing."

"Hey!" Edward said, clearly misunderstanding. "We didn't do anything!" Violet rolled her eyes and hit him across the face.

"Not us Edward!" She said, getting a confused look from her younger brother.

"That's right, I wasn't talking to you…although I highly doubt that you weren't doing something! You are always doing something!" Justin tried to pull away from Brutus again, but failed. The man tightened his grasp an glared at the boy.

"I don't have to wait for you, your fathers already down by Pumpkin House, we'll just wait till he comes back up this way and then tell him what you've been doing up there." He turned and looked at Gregory who had remained fairly quiet since Brutus had caught him.

"Then I'll deal with you."

Justin was staring up at the man in horror.

"You can't tell him…I'll, I'll just deny it!"

"Shut up kid, none of that arrogant rich kid stuff is going to work on me." Brutus looked up at Edward and Violet, who were both staring at him in curiosity.

"As for you two, I suggest that you start heading home. This doesn't concern you!" Edward glared.

"Hey you can't…ow!" Violet stepped on his foot.

"Shut up Edward." She said quietly through her teeth. "The last time you challenged Brutus we wound up doing community service for three months!" She grabbed him by the collar and started to drag him away. Brutus watched them go with satisfaction.

"Now we just wait on your father." Brutus said, relaxing his grip on Gregory's collar, who he had decided, probably wouldn't try to get away. Justin glared at the man.

"My father won't believe you, he thinks your crazy."

"So does everyone else, kid, but I don't let up easy, and they all end up trusting my word in the end." He sounded quite sure.

"I always get my way." Justin said, not sounding sure at all. Gregory cast him a look, catching his eye. The look that he gave him was one of annoyance.

"Shut up Justin." Justin narrowed his eyes.

"You can't tell me what to do. Besides, you're the one who's going to get into trouble, you went into the house, for all anyone knows you tricked me into breaking into it for you." Gregory looked at Justin in rage and disbelief.

"You conniving-" He was interrupted.

"Shut up, both of you!" Brutus shouted. Gregory and Justin fell silent. "There's your father." Brutus said, while nodding in the direction of Pumpkin House.

Jeff was walking back along the road. He looked frustrated about something. When he saw Brutus holding Gregory and his son he paused, then cautiously made his way forward. He was wearing a weak smile.

"Mr. Stiltz." He said slowly, while casting a wondering glance to his son. "Is there a reason you have my boy by the shirt like that." Brutus nodded.

"I caught your son, and this kid over by Pumpkin House. I think they were trying to break in." Brutus said. Jeff's already waning smile diminished entirely.

"He was what?" Jeff said, his voice sounded strange.

"Your son and this kid were out by Pumpkin House a little bit ago. I saw them go in the fence, then try to sneak out. Justin here was carrying a box of tools on the way in, I saw them from my porch."

"Ah…" Jeff said. He gave Justin a piercing look, which he turned quickly to Gregory, who found it extremely unsettling.

"Why…Why were you boys over there at that old house?" He asked, his voice shaking a little. Neither of the boys answered. Justin because he was straining to think of a way out of the situation, while Gregory, on the other hand, had suddenly found the ground very interesting.

"I see. Well thank you Brutus for bringing this to my attention. You can go home if you like, I'll be taking Justin home…I'll drop Gregory off on the way." He reached out to take both boys. Brutus stepped back when Jeff reached out to grab Gregory as well as his own son, and as a result got a very irritated and confused look from the scrawny man.

"I said I would…"

"I know, but if it's all the same to you, I know your busy and all and I don't mind taking this kid home for you. From what I've seen that boy of yours and he don't get along very well. Wouldn't want to cause more trouble, would we?" Brutus smiled. Jeff did not return his smile, but gave him a very uncomfortable look.

Looking at the two, Gregory decided that Jeff looked quite a bit more crazy then Brutus Stiltz did. He wasn't wild about being escorted home by a stranger who obviously did not have a very good reputation in town, but he would prefer just about anyone to Jeff King. He made Gregory nervous.

"Really, Mr. Stiltz…" Jeff said. "It's so out of your way. It would be much simpler if I took him home. I'll see to it that the boys don't argue and…"

"It's quite alright, Mr. King. I was thinking about taking a walk anyway. And you seam to have enough trouble with your own son without having another boy on your hands." Brutus nodded at Jeff, who had obviously taken offense to his comment. Gregory hid an amused smile as he followed Brutus, who had begun to make his way towards the more populated side of town.

Brutus was walking quickly, and seamed to think that Gregory would follow without having to drag him along by the collar, for he wasn't keeping a very close watch on him. Gregory watched his receding form as he tried to keep up, and assumed the quick pace was to avoid further discomfort from the Kings, for as soon as they got a reasonable distance, the man let up on his speed a little.

"So…what's your name kid?" He asked just as Gregory caught up with him.

"Gregory." He answered. Brutus nodded.

"What's your last name?" He asked, giving Gregory a searching look. If it wasn't for the fact that the man he was with was the one who had caught him in the act of breaking into residential house he probably would have inquired as to why the man was interested in knowing his last name. In this case, however, he decided it was best not to argue.

"Officially, it's Barrel." He said. "But my aunt wants me to change it to her last name, which would make it Garret." He frowned a little. Brutus looked at him funny.

"Gregory Garret? That sucks kid." Gregory laughed a little and nodded in agreement. Brutus was wearing a sort of confused look, and shook his head like he was either trying to clear it, or answering a question that no one had asked.

"I've never heard that last name before. Your families new here aren't they?" Gregory nodded.

"Me an my aunt moved in last weekend."

"And you've already gotten yourself into trouble!" Brutus asked, while giving him a look that suggested that he was perhaps not the brightest kid in the world. Gregory was silent. He kicked a stone while he walked, and watched as it sailed across the old paving. Brutus shook his head again, this time in disapproval.

"I swear, you kids are of control these days. Your not going to wind up being like the Wayward kids are you, because I don't think I can handle another hooligan knocking my mailbox over every other day." Gregory looked up at Brutus with his eye brows raised, he shook his head almost violently. Something about this made Brutus laugh.

"Oh, I see, already giving you trouble then huh."

"Yea…since the day I got here." Gregory said grudgingly, his voice was almost too low to here.

"Those kids get on my last nerve." Brutus said. "It wasn't so bad before. I mean, they were always trouble makers. But it used to be little things, you know, funny things, that the kids in town always found hilarious, and adults couldn't very well punish them for without smiling themselves. Now I swear those kids are worse then some of the convicts I used to get back when I used to be on the force. If they even cross the line a little, they'll both be tossed in some correctional school, there's no doubt about that. Their mothers dying for a reason to get rid of them for good."

Gregory listened to all of this intently. His general thought was that it would be rather nice if the Wayward siblings got tossed into some place that would put them miles away from him. In the back of his mind, however, was a question that won out over straightforward dislike.

"Why did they start acting like that? Because, I mean, they have to be the worst kids I have ever met." Brutus sighed.

"Well, there's no doubt that most of it started when Garretty died. As for why they torture the rest of us. The only reason I've been able to come up with is that they're mad at us." Gregory rose his brow.

"Who's Garretty?"

"Garretty Wayward. Their father. He was a decent man. We used to be friends." Gregory nodded. Feeling a light understanding, he, after all, knew what it was like to lose a parent. He had lost both of his. Still, he didn't think that was a very practical reason to get enraged at an entire town.

"So they torture people because their dad died?" Brutus shook his head.

"No. That part didn't start until the King's moved in. Jeff King, technically owned the town a full five years before he moved in. For those five years, he didn't touch the name, or anything else. It was like he was scared to or something. Then, after he finally did move in, he went and changed everything. It wasn't until then that they started to become sort of what you see in them now. After their father died they actually stopped acting up for a while. Lost all of their friends. Only seamed to want to hang out with each other. They seamed withdrawn, cold, ill-mannered, but not near as horrible as they are now."

"So…why are they mad at us, because as far as I know, I didn't do anything to offend them in the two seconds that we were introduced before they threw me in the lake."

"It's not you, it's not me, it's all of us. Mostly it's the King's. That's why they get the worst abuse. As for the rest of us, I think they have it in their heads that we betrayed them or something."

"How?" Gregory asked.

"Well, Garretty Wayward was an architect. This town, as you see it now, well…not now, but as it was before, was the way it was, mostly because of him, Hector, and Viktor Skellington. Don't get me wrong, this town was around for a long time before and after Hector owned it before Garretty even touched it, but between those three men it was repaired, and kept up. They were proud of it too. They renamed everything. Changed the name from Skellington to Pumpkin Town, named all of the streets, the school, the lake, the bridge, even gave the lots names, although I hardly remember any of those anymore. They had fun with it. And to thank Garretty, Hector named the street into town after him. Used to be Wayward Street." Brutus sighed, and looked up from his feet, where his focus had been, to look up at a near bye street sign. KIGDOM ROAD it read.

"Of course that was when they were all alive."

Gregory had been listening to Brutus talk in fascination. When the man fell silent he looked up at him. The look on the mans face was one of sorrow. Gregory looked away uncomfortably. Aware that he felt a dull anger and growing dislike for the Kings rising inside him.

"So this is because Jeff changed everything. Didn't anyone try to stop him from doing it? I mean, obviously they couldn't stop him from owning the town, but he seams like a pretty big pushover…" Brutus interrupted him.

"We tried. Looks can be deceiving kid. We all gave up a long time ago though. I guess we're all just glad he didn't try to take away our annual Halloween celebration. Well, I guess he did try…but, I guess he found that there were still a few things he couldn't change in Pumpkin Town."

Gregory felt a light breeze ruffle his messy hair. He looked ahead of him, in the direction they were walking and saw his house in the distance. As he spotted it, the lights turned on inside, making him realize that it was getting dark.

"So…" Brutus said beside him, getting his attention. "Exactly why were you trying to get into Pumpkin House earlier, anyway?" Gregory sighed, aware that the breeze felt very good on his face. They were receiving very unseasonable weather considering it was mid October.

"Well." Brutus said.

"Me and Justin were trying to use the house to scare Edward and Violet. We wanted to get them back for the way they treated us." Brutus nodded once.

"I see. Not a bad idea. They believe the superstitions surrounded around that house as well as anyone else does." Gregory nodded.

"Still, breaking into someone's house is a serious thing. I trust that if I don't tell anyone about this that you won't ever do it, or anything like it again." Gregory looked up at him quickly, with wide eyes.

"Your not going to tell my aunt?" Brutus looked at him sternly.

"Will you ever do it again?" Gregory shook his head.

"No."

"Then I won't tell your aunt." Gregory smiled, feeling considerably relieved.

"Thanks." He said, still in disbelief.

"I trust you can make the rest of the way home yourself." Brutus said, a bit of a smile playing behind his lips. Gregory nodded.

"Alright then, see ya later kid."

Gregory thanked him again before darting off in the direction of his house, thinking that he was extremely lucky. First, he had been caught at Pumpkin House, and was let go. Then, he was caught by someone who had seen him in Pumpkin House, and now was being let of the hook again. He was aware that for the first time since his parents had died, that he was feeling pretty good. His exuberance, of course, did not last long. He was nearing his house, in a half jog, half run, when someone stepped in front of him, cutting off his path and knocking him down.

Gregory sat for a moment in confusion and slight disorientation at being brought back down to earth so violently. A sharp pain in his hands brought him back to a regular plane of thought, as they made the first contact with the asphalt.

He looked up, and saw, to his horror, that the person who had stopped him was Edward. He looked down at Gregory in a way that made him very uncomfortable. Behind him, Violet was giving him a similar look. It was a relatively familiar look to Gregory, for he had seen it on many of the kids who had picked on him in the past, but he hadn't seen it or anything even remotely close to it on either of the Wayward kids before that moment. It was an angry threatened look. To Gregory's recollection, a bullies only obvious show of weakness.

"Your going to wish you'd never even thought of revenge." Edward whispered. Gregory stared up at him in terror. They had heard. Somehow, they had heard.

As a last attempt at salvaging what had been a rather nice night Gregory looked over his shoulder to see if he could still see Mr. Stiltz, perhaps call him back, but it was no use. The man was no where in sight.

Hmmm. Think I'm going to have to start making these chapters longer, at least in this story. I'm already on Nine, and I'm not anywhere close to where I'd like to be. Sigh. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Expect updates soon. I already started on Chapter Four of The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise, so that should be done fairly soon also. Unfortunately, the next week is going to be agonizingly busy for me, so updates may be slower then usual. Thank you for your reviews.


	11. The Photograph

Chapter Ten:

The Photograph

After a while Gregory's cheek and teeth began to hurt as his face pressed against the rough pavement. Of all of the times he had been bullied in his life, and there had been quite a few, no one had ever quite reached the level of ferocity and incongruity that the Wayward kids were attaining. Since he had met them, one week before; he had ended up in the lake twice, he had lost all of the photographs and sentimental things his parents had given him, and now, in what was probably the most peculiar bullying situation Gregory had ever been in, he was currently tied at the ankles and wrists, by manner of his own shoelaces…right outside of his front door. He groaned at the level of feebleness he had reached.

He had been there for an hour, and after struggling the entire time, he had come to the conclusion that he would not get free unless his aunt, or someone else found him lying there. This dismayed him.

"Why can't things ever be easy?" He whispered to himself. He began to look around him for something that would aid his escape from the binds which, only an hour before had kept his shoes on (Not that he needed that anymore, considering that Edward had taken both of his shoes with him when he had run off.) when he caught sight of a set of sheers sticking out of a flower pot his aunt had left out after doing some gardening. He sighed, deciding that using them would be a terrible idea and would probably just wind up making his day worse and then he began to proceed toward them very slowly.

Almost ten minutes went by before he reached the large sheers. After that he decided that he never wanted to put so much effort into moving again. He struggled to turn around, so that his back was turned to the sharp instruments and began to back up as best as he could against them.

"Ow!" He yelled out as his first attempt sent the blade scraping across his right hand. "there has got to be an easier way to do this."

He backed up again, this time going slower so that if the blades came in contact with his hands, it would only touch them slightly. He felt it brush against his left and slowly moved both hands so that the blade touched the shoe laces. Gregory took a deep breath and jerked his hands back forcefully. The blade lunged through both his hands and the small laces, cutting him free, but also giving him two nasty scrapes along both his right and left palms. Gregory gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for the pain to diminish a little.

When it did he sighed and slowly moved his hands in front of his face, crimson droplets ran down both palms, the sight of it made him cringe a little. He hoped he never had to do anything like that again. After a brief pause, which he took to flex both hands to make sure they were alright, he leaned forward and untied the shoe laces which were binding his ankles. He would at least be saved the embarrassment of being found tied up beneath his front door, even if he did come out of it with a few marks that would probably leave nasty scars.

It was already past dark when Gregory came through the front door. When he did, he was immediately bombarded with scolding remarks from his aunt who was in the next room.

"Gregory, where have you been? I expected you almost three hours ago. It's 8:00, where were you?"

He ignored her. When she didn't get a response she walked into the room and watched him angrily as he walked slowly up the stairs.

"Where are your shoes? And ugh! Your so dirty! I swear Gregory your poor mother would be horrified to see you carrying yourself like this."

By the time she had finished her sentence he was already up the stairs and had turned down the hallway. She didn't bother to ask him why blood was dripping from his palms and the back of his right hand, he expected she just didn't notice.

A couple hours later Gregory had showered and had bandaged his hands as best as he could with injuries on both. He was sitting in his room looking over his homework halfheartedly, when he remembered the picture of his parents in the pocket of the pants he had worn that day. He stood up and looked around until he found his dirty clothing strewn about in the corner. When he did he grabbed his pants form the pile and shoved his hands in one of the pockets. His hand closed around a photograph which he pulled free from the pocket.

He started to carry the photo back to his desk when he got a good look at it and discovered it was not his. He stopped and stared at the unfamiliar photograph bewilderedly. After a few seconds which he spent trying to come up with an explanation for why he had had the picture in his pocket, he rushed back to the corner and shoved his hand in his other pocket. He pulled it back out clutching the picture of his parents, with a sigh of relief and crossed the room to set the picture on his desk.

With that done, he looked back to the other picture and examined it carefully. In the picture there were three guys. Two of them looked similar, like they were related, but the third looked nothing like the other two. The man in the middle, who had a very solemn look on his face was the oldest, as most of his hair had turned white and grey. He was tall and skinny, and had eyes as dark as the night. The one who looked like him was considerably younger, and looked to be in a better mood as his face was lit up with a broad smile. Gregory also thought that he looked a lot like the man he had met earlier that day in the Pumpkin House. That left the last man, who was obviously younger then both of the others. He stood a head lower then both of them and had dark brown hair instead of black. His face was lined with fresh whiskers and his ear had a glinting silver ring in it. He also looked happier then both men combined. Gregory liked the look of the third man, he looked like someone who could get along with just about anyone.

Gregory rose his brow and wondered again how the picture had gotten into his pocket. He sat on the revolving chair at his desk and rested his arms on the desks wooden surface. For a few minutes he sat like that staring at the picture as he mentally went through his day, trying to uncover the point where he had taken a strange photo. He couldn't remember. As he thought his light flickered a little. He looked up at it and sighed. One week and the old wiring in the house was already acting up. He stood, and as he did, the room went completely black.

"Great…just great." He said under his breath as he began to feel his way around his room. He reached what he thought was the closet and began to feel around inside it. He talked to himself quietly while he looked.

"I get talked into breaking into a house by someone who runs off at the first sight of trouble, and then proceeds to blame me for everything. I get caught a second time when I think I'm lucky enough to get off home free, I get off again only to be bound by a couple of psychotic tormenters! Now I'm searching for light bulbs because this stupid house has stupid faulty wiring!" He touched something sharp and let out a cry of pain, which slowly to shifted to that of rage as he hit the wall in frustration…which ended up making it and his previous cuts feels worse.

"Oh Darn it!" He laid his head against the wall by his closet, trying to calm down.

"Darkness…oh well…at least it's not strobe…" Gregory stopped in mid sentence and rose his head, and looked over to where the desk would have been if he could see it.

"That's right…" He said, as he remembered something from earlier that day. "I pocketed something in that guys basement when it was dark…that's where I got it." Having figured that out Gregory felt a little better and went back to searching for the light bulbs, which he found after he touched whatever the sharp thing was at least twice more.

After he struggled back to his desk and fiddled with the old bulb for a few minutes he was able to screw in the new one, which for one moment, didn't seam to want to work either. Gregory tightened his jaw, and was sure he was about to pick the lamp up and throw it across the room when the bulb came to life and illuminated his small room once more. He let out a sigh and sat back into his seat. He examined his hands again and found three fresh cuts, and fresh blood where the old ones had been. Gregory groaned.

"Maybe I should go to bed, before I accidentally slit my wrists." He said in frustration.

(3 Hours Earlier)

Throughout most of the trip home, Justin noticed his father was being more quiet and jumpy then usual. He kept casting nervous glances behind him, as though something were going to come upon him in the growing dark. Justin gave his father an aggravated look.

"Why do you always have to act so bizarre. Before long the whole towns going to start calling you a nut case like that idiotic Mr. Stiltz. Do you even care about me and mom. I mean, how are we going to look next to you if you start acting like a mental case?" Jeff was partly ignoring his son, but before the boy could get too deeply in his accusations he spun around to face him and grabbed him roughly by the jaw. Justin stopped talking immediately and looked up at his father fearfully.

"Justin, I would not be testing my patience tonight! You have done something today that is near unforgivable! You are not to ever go into that house, or even be within fifty feet of the property it is on from now on! If you ever go there again you will be in so much trouble that you will wish I'd have left you to those nasty Wayward kids. Do you understand?" Justin was still staring up at his father in something close to shock. He had never talked to him that way, ever. Normally Jeff was a perfect pushover, a spoiled kids sweetest dream. Justin didn't like this new development. He nodded furiously and then glared at his father as he turned and continued to walk towards their house.

He would listen to what his father said this time, but not because his father had said it. He had no plans of going back to that house anyway. There was no way he'd ever go in by himself and now that he had tried to push the full blame on Gregory (Whether it had worked or not.) he didn't think the boy would agree to go back to the dwelling with him. Justin thought that although Gregory was a total loser, he wasn't entirely stupid. He had fooled him once, he didn't think it would be possible to do it again.

So, he would go to Plan B. Justin grinned. According to his mother, his cousins were due over for the week. This would have been there first time in Kingston. Over the last five years, they had suggested that the King family come down to see them on reunions. They, as they explained, were not all too crazy about coming to stay in an old town full of eccentric residents. For the first couple of years, Justin's mother had wailed about this. She had tried to make Jeff guilty and miserable about bringing her to live in such a horrible town, separating her from her sister and wonderful nephews. Personally, Justin found both of his cousins to be a bit oafish. They looked like two ogres who were trying to pass as nice well behaving boys. But he never said anything even remotely close to this around them.

When it came to Stan and George, Justin felt he should keep his mouth shut, which was a thing he rarely did. After all, if he played his cards right, and did everything they said, and sucked up to them as best as he could, they'd do just about anything he asked them to. And right now, he had something of great desire in mind. Justin's grin widened.

Edward and Violet would pay. They would see what it was like to be beaten senseless.

In Pumpkin Town, on every night in October, the Town would fill with the soft sound of music, that drifted down from the large clock on top of Town Hall. The song played was called 'She Wondered Through The Pumpkin Patch.' And each night a few notes of the song would be played, right before the clock struck midnight. The last time the song would play was on Halloween. On this night it played the whole song, all the way through.

The music was installed as a tribute to Susannah and Anastasia Skellington, both of whom died in the same year. Susannah, Hectors beloved wife, had only been thirty seven when she passed. She had died, quite simply, of a broken heart. Many people believe such a thing is impossible, but after losing her daughter, Susannah was over come with such a deep sadness and sense of loss that she found her self captive of it. She grew ill and faded away. Hector and Susannah's daughter, Anna had had a heart condition. Her heart was sick from birth, and her life was short as a result. When she died, she was only five.

After the passing of his wife and daughter, Hector did a lot of things to honor their memory. He renamed the town, from Skellington to Pumpkin Town, in honor of Anna, who had acquired the nickname Pumpkin Head, due to her fiery red hair.

The song, he chose because his wife had loved Halloween and autumn, and it had been her favorite.

None of the town members objected. They all missed Susannah and Anna terribly, but none so much as Hector himself, who fell into a dismal state without his wife and daughter. It got to the point where his older boy did most of the work around town, though at the time, he had been only thirteen years old, even at that young age, Viktor showed a deep longing to help, and also missed his sister and mother deeply.

Hectors younger boy went a different route. He seamed to fall into a quiet state of depression, becoming more and more disconnected and isolated from the rest of the town.

In Kingston, at night in October, there is no music played before the clock strikes twelve. Part of this is due to the new ownership, but it is mostly due to the fact that the clock on top of Town Hall has been stopped at Seven Forty One for almost eight years. Therefore, because both the song, and the name of the town has either changed or diminished, the ritual of honoring the dead, has long since been abandoned by the people of Kingston.

Still, some things are far too powerful or memorable to vanish completely and honor is still shown throughout Kingston, whether the people know they are doing it or not. Many of them find themselves humming the notes of 'She Wondered Through The Pumpkin Patch.' Years after the song itself has been heard. Some even wake up at Twelve O' clock to the song being played, only to realize they had been humming it in their sleep. And of course, many of them still called the town Pumpkin Town, whether it had a different owner or not.

As twelve O' Clock rolled around, and it officially became October Twentieth the town was quieter then ever. This, whether by weather terms, or that of literature, is generally deemed; the calm before the storm.

Many of the towns residents found themselves getting tense. They told themselves it was the oddly warm weather, or that they were just coming down with a slight case of the heebie- jeebies, but what they were all thinking still drifted about the air in an uncomfortable superstitious cloud;

Halloween was coming again, and this time, it was the Thirteenth anniversary of Hector Skellington's death.

Mhmm…yea, still not where I want to be. This story is going to have a huge amount of chapters. Oh well, I'm getting close.

To Skeleton The Wanderer; yeah, I knew it was an iron maiden (In The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise.) It just slipped my mind when I was writing the story. But thank you for bring that, and many other things to my attention. At some point, I need to go back and change everything.

Is anyone ( And by anyone, I mean, you two, who have been reading and reviewing the story.) getting an idea what's going on yet? I imagine you'll both know what's going to end up happening long before I start giving stuff away. Thank you for reading and reviewing this story. I'll try to update the other one (Or both, if I decide to go down that road and write three stories at once.) sometime this weekend. Until then, I hope you enjoy what I have.


	12. And Now The Shoe Is On The Other Foot

Chapter 11:

And Now The Shoe Is On The Other Foot

Dawn Gordon came from a family of four. There was her mother and father and her sister Elise. Of the two sisters, Elise was the oldest and the first to marry. Dawn had always considered her sister to be the lucky one. She married a tall muscular man named Benjamin Harris and had two boys who both took after their father in size and weight.

Her boys, Stan and George, in Dawns eyes were perfect examples of what a growing boy should look like. (Never mind that both they and there father were as ugly as sin.)

Dawn's sister Elise, her husband, and her two sons all lived out near the city, where they owned a beautiful spacious house which looked over the ocean. Dawn could sometimes taste the bitter jealousy she felt for her elder sister.

Dawn herself had chosen a man that had been only a bit shorter then her on their wedding day, and seamed, to her, to be getting shorter and shorter every year. (This, she expected was due to his ever increasing habit of slouching.) Two years after they married, he began to go bald. After seven years, he moved her and their six year old son Justin to a wretched little town that no one has heard of, full of residents that clearly did not want them there, and dwelled in a house that, although may have been quite nice in its days, took so much work it would almost be of better result if they would just let it fall to the ground and slept on it's shattered remains. Five years to the day, she put up with this…and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. This became especially hard when it became painfully obvious that things were not getting better, but worse.

The worst thing, however, was Jeff. She believed she once had loved him, but those days, like his hair, were going fast. These days her mood towards him varied from loathing him with immense passion, or becoming increasingly uneasy and frightened of him. He was aging quicker then any man she had ever known, and his mind seamed to be going a little more with every year. Just lately, she was seriously considering the option of divorce, Justin or no Justin. (Preferably no Justin, seeing as her own son was beginning to frighten her too.)

Then she got a call from her sister. Now, despite her heavy feelings of jealousy for Elise and her perfect life, she was always glad to see her. Having Elise over gave her someone sane to talk to for a couple days and the fact that they were coming to Kingston made the visit all the more valuable. If her sister told her to get out of the relationship, based on what she saw, Dawn would do it, no questions asked.

That's how to came to be, that there visit was moved up by four weeks.

Both Dawn, and her son, who, thankfully, was acting normal on the morning of October 20th were sitting at the window, impatiently awaiting the arrival of the Harris'.

"When did they say they would get here?" Justin asked his mother impatiently.

"Eleven O' Clock, Justin. Where's that idiot father of yours?" There was a coldness in her voice which would concern any normal boy who valued their parents relationship. Justin either missed it, or could care less.

"He's been up in his study all morning. I don't know what he's been doing." Justin answered with little interest. Dawn rolled her eyes.

Jeff spent a lot of time these days in a cold dark room that he liked to pass off as a study. It was small and full of file cabinets and an ugly little desk with thousands of papers scattered all over its surface. Neither Dawn or Justin were allowed in this room, so neither of them were sure what he used it for or what he kept buried in the confines of the many drawers and file cabinets that bordered it's walls. This was another thing that was making Dawn increasingly nervous.

These things would have run through her thoughts like an angry and doubtful storm again this morning if it were not for Justin's sudden outburst of elation.

"Their here!" He said loudly. Dawn shook her head to clear her thoughts and watched as Ben's Cadillac pulled in the driveway.

Justin stood up and hurried out the front door with his mother close behind him.

Ben and Elise were the first one's to get out of the car. Elise smiled, showing a full set of rather dingy looking teeth and gave her younger sister a big hug.

"Dawn! What have you been eating, sis, your wasting away to nothing!" She said jovially. Dawn smiled and returned her hug, not bothering to contradict by noticing that Elise had indeed taken on a few pounds.

Next, Stan and George Exited the car, looking as though it were getting a bit too small for them and that exiting too quickly may cause one of them to break it by accident. Justin stopped in front of them and grinned broadly. Stan returned his smile willingly enough, while his brother continued to grimace as though he had just swallowed something nasty.

"Hey, Justin so what's up with you? The other day on the phone you sounding desperate to quicken our arrival." Stan said, choosing his words carefully and sounding intelligent and polite despite his less then impressive and rather boorish appearance.

"Yeah, you said there was some kids that was bothering you." His brother said awkwardly in a deep voice that completely threw off any signs of intelligence he might have been able to purvey.

Justin looked at him sharply then cast a nervous glance to his mother who was leading Elise and Benjamin inside. He nodded, deciding that they could talk about his plans without being over heard and turned back to his cousins with a severely dark look on his face.

"I hate them and I want them taken care of." He said in a voice that was full of pure venom.

"You want us to shake them up a little?" Stan asked quietly. Justin shook his head.

"I want you to show them what a true beating is suppose to feel like. I want them hurting so bad that they cant see straight. I want them to be beaten so badly that their eyes are watering and that their begging for mercy. That's what I want." Stan and George looked at each other uncomfortably.

"These kids, are they your age?" He asked, his voice mounting with unease. Justin nodded.

"Violet's a little older, but Edwards my age, why?" George shook his head.

"I aint getting put back in juvenile hall for beating up little kids." George said. Stan nodded.

"Yeah, we'd really like to help you but…" Justin interrupted them.

"You won't get caught. I promise, and I doubt anyone will care if they see them all mangled, either. No one in town likes them. Plus, you'll be leaving in a couple days, and no one needs to know you were here. We don't have friends in this town, so my parents wont tell anyone. No one knows about you." Justin said pleadingly. Stan and George shared another look with each other.

"Alright, because your are cousin, but if we get caught you had better come up with a good excuse as to why we were beating on two little kids." Stan said. George nodded.

"Don't worry." Justin said, a grin beginning to form on his lips. "You won't get caught."

Violet was busy looking through a box of old photographs in her and Edwards tree house while she waited for Edward to get back from one of his behavioral classes with one of the law officials from that area. (Which was obviously having no effect on him whatsoever.)

She pulled out a particularly old looking picture, glanced at it casually and put it aside in a pile of photos she thought she might like to keep. The others, which consisted of her and Edward in their younger and not so aggressive days, and their mother, she would either toss behind her back, or rip apart. She got to one of their mother and father and ripped it down the middle, the side with her father was neatly put in the pile by her side, while the other soon became two halves and then fours pieces, until it was ripped into tiny shreds. She did this to several of the pictures that followed.

One picture, that she seamed to have a particularly loathsome attitude towards was taking her attention so much in it's mangling process that she barely noticed as her brother entered the door and threw his monthly report to the ground in a fury. She looked up and surveyed him and the papers on the ground over her shredding and her eyes narrowed.

"What did you do?" She asked dully. He threw his arms up in frustration.

"I called him a pansy and said his family was a bunch of dirt shoveling freeloaders with no lives, and called his daughters ugly as sin and he freaked out. Talk about needing anger management. Although, I think that water balloon in his desk was a large part of his rage."

"Water balloon?"

"Yeah, with that paint burning stuff in it. It ruined a bunch of papers in his drawer and he said something about it being his last chance at having a happy marriage or something, anyway, the moron assigned me to another session of therapy for tomorrow morning." Violet was shaking his head.

"Edward if you just get through ONE of those…" He interrupted her.

"Ah, who cares, therapy doesn't help anything, you know that." Violet nodded and went back to sorting through the photographs.

"Still," She said as she did. "If you ever want to stop taking those stupid sessions your going to have to fake your way through a couple." Edward shrugged.

"So," he said, changing the subject. "What are we going to do today?"

"What do you mean?" Violet asked, her voice devoid of interest. Edward raised his brow.

"Well I have to do something to let out all of my rage." He said, while picking up one of the photos Violet had set aside.

"Yeah, that's wise." She said in sarcasm.

"Eh, Who cares. I've been dying to get back at Justin for being in on that stupid little revenge thing since yesterday. Want to go punch him around for a while?" Violet sighed as she reached the last photograph in the box and ripped it in half.

"Yeah, alright, I guess." She said unenthusiastically. Edward gave her a funny look.

"What is up with you lately?" He asked, a little annoyance edging into his voice. Violet looked up in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You've just been really dull lately. It's like your losing your touch!" He said in frustration. Violet sighed again and stood up, casually brushing a few remnants of bad photographs off of her long sleeved purple shirt.

"Do you ever wonder if any of this troublemaking stuff is doing us any good?" She asked. Edward rose his brow.

"What do you mean?" He asked slowly.

"Like…you know…whether or not we really are trying to get a point across or something…like we overheard Brutus say…or if were not just doing it for entertainment?" She explained, then, upon seeing the blank look on her brothers face she brushed the thought away.

"Never mind. Let's go find Justin and hang him on his storm drain by his underwear." She said dismissively. Edward nodded, still looking a bit confused, and obviously glad that she had changed the subject.

By the next morning Gregory was feeling a little better. Granted, he wasn't in a good mood, but he at least did not feel quite as angry and depressed as he had the night before. His aunt had asked him to run an errand to the Town Municipal Hall to pick up some papers that she had not picked up at the beginning of the week, which he had been happy to do in order to stay away from her and to not attract questions about the night before and his bandaged hands.

He was on his way, focusing bitterly on the ground when a loud raucous sound emitted from his right. He looked up, startled, and his eyes fixed on a deep purple car. At first, he didn't recognize it, then, when the window rolled down and Mrs. Venison's plump face appeared in it, he remembered it from the first day he was in Kingston, when he had ridden in the back seat after being thrown in the lake.

"Hey Gregory." The woman said pleasantly. "Need a ride anywhere?" A faint and unconvincing smile crossed Gregory's lips.

"No thanks." He said quietly.

"You sure? My son could use the company." It was then that Gregory noticed the other person in the car. He leaned slightly to the left to get a better look and saw Marion in the passenger seat, trying his best to avoid Gregory's glance.

"That's ok Mrs. Venison. I'd rather just walk." He said. There was a tired sound in his voice. He found himself feeling quite bitter towards the boy he had met on the first day of school. He was just one more kid who did not seam to want to make friends with him. He was sort of sick of all of them, really. The whole town was seriously beginning to irritate him.

"Are you sure? Last chance."

"I'm sure." He said, his smile widening a little. He supposed this smile was even worst the first one he gave (Especially when Mrs. Venison appeared to look at him a bit uneasily.) but he found that he could really care less. He had had a REALLY lousy week.

"Alright." She started to duck her head back in the car, then, a thought seemed to work its way into her mind and she popped it back out again. "Are those Wayward kids still giving you trouble?" Gregory noticed that as she said this she was looking at his hands with a bit of concern. He looked down at them himself and then back up at her trying to feign embarrassment.

"Oh, these." He raised both hands up. "I just had a little…gardening accident is all." As he said this he felt a sinking sensation in his gut. It sounded so stupid.

Mrs. Venison nodded, an odd look forming on her face.

"Alright then." She said, seeming to dismiss it. "Well, see you later, Greg." Gregory put his hand up in a farewell gesture.

As she rolled up the window he heard Marion say something bitterly. It sounded something like;

"Mom, why'd you have to stop and talk to him, what if someone saw us!" This was followed by a much louder;

"Quiet Marion! That's Rude!" Then the window was up and they were driving away. Gregory glared after them as they disappeared down the street, then continued to walk, kicking as many things as possible along his way.

The Wayward kids were excellent at not being seen…when they desired not to be, anyway. Usually, when they were sabotaging a house, or trying to cut off a kid who was walking home from school they took an array of short cuts that they had learned over the years so that the kid, or owner of the property, did not see them coming. On this day, that talent (If you will.) did nothing for them.

They had taken a short cut to Justin's house, planning on letting the air out of Mr. Kings tires, knocking down the King's mail box, and doing a decent amount of other things to irritate Justin and his family, before waiting for Justin to come out by himself. At that point they would get serious, as they always did when a lesson needed to be learned.

They had let out half of the tires on Mr. King's automobile when two very large shadows fell on them.

"Well," A deep and stupid voice spoke quietly. "You must be Edward and Violet Wayward." Then, another voice joined the first.

"We've been waiting for you."

(Sighs) Well, here's another chapter. Now, by all rights this should be the next chapter for The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise, but this one was fairly easy to write, as is the next one to Pumpkin Town, and The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise, for now at least, has me stuck. I'll try to update that one next, but if it comes easier, I may just update Pumpkin Town and Special Keys For Special Doors another time before getting back on it. Either way, there will be updates on all of my stories as soon as I can get around to them. Thank you for your Reviews.


	13. Blackmail?

Chapter Twelve:

Blackmail?

Violet and Edward froze for a moment and shared a brief look of wariness before turning around to see who had addressed them. Behind them were two very large and oafish boys. The taller one crossed his arms and grinned. The boy beside him, who looked a great deal meaner, what with the seemingly painted sneer upon his face cracked his knuckles loudly and barred his teeth like an animal trying to strike fear into his prey. Violet took a deep breath before looking at her brother out of the corner of her eye.

"Edward…" She said, just above a whisper.

"Uh huh." He answered.

"I think…we should run." He swallowed and nodded.

The larger boy's grins widened as the two children stood and took off in different directions as fast as they could. The taller one sped after Violet. He was laughing loudly as he did.

The shorter and by far uglier one took after Edward, who, despite all of the other things that Violet had him outmatched in, was the better runner of the two. This gave him an advantage, since George, who was not built by God to run, could not keep up with him. This bought him some time…for a little while anyway.

Violet didn't have a chance. She got out about two hundred feet before Stan was able to catch up to her. He grabbed her by the collar and pulled. Violet made a garbled choking sound and fell backwards off her feet.

"Hehe. This is going to be the easiest beating I'll ever have to give." He said, while pulling her off the ground and into a choke hold.

"Didn't…your…mother ever teach you…not to…hit girls!" Violet spat out in a strangled voice. He laughed.

"Well, I figure it doesn't count when that girl's so ugly she might as well be a boy." He said while tightening his hold on her. Violet elbowed him hard in the stomach, and caught him off guard. Stan inhaled sharply and loosened his grip enough for her to move around and elbow him again. This time she went for his crotch. He hollered loudly and his grasp on her was lifted.

"Look who's talking!" She said as she struggled to her feet. She took a few quick steps forward.

"Why you little…!" Stan yelled (His voice a little higher then it had been.) He reached out and grabbed her ankle, sending her crashing back down to the ground.

"Now I have reason to beat the crap out of you!" He said, a bit of saliva falling from his lips. He got to his feet and grabbed her roughly by the arm.

Violet cringed as Stan twisted her arm painfully behind her back before pulling her up again. She had always heard the saying 'What goes around comes around.' And up until then, had really hoped it wasn't true.

­

Edward wasn't having much better luck. He managed to get farther then his sister before he got caught, but as soon as he was, George did not go easy on him.

The monstrous boy grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pulled him roughly to the ground. Edward was more persistent then his sister when it came to getting free and putting up as much of a fight as he could. He punched at the boy desperately, and tried to make a connection. He got a few lucky punches in and managed to get George in the face once and just barely in the ribs before the boy grabbed both of Edwards arms and twisted them behind his back.

George leaned over him. NOW he was grinning, but with a kind of sneer that made him look sort of crazy.

"Your about to feel what real pain is like, kid. I'd forgotten how much fun this was." He turned Edward around to face him and rose his fist. By that point, Edward had decided that there was probably no hope of getting away and had braced himself for whatever blows were to come.

Gregory was waiting quietly for the man at the desk as he searched through his files to find The Garrets proof of ownership and was wondering if he were to somehow 'lose' those forms if it wouldn't affect their authorization to live there, when he caught sight of a large picture over the front door. He straightened and his eyes widened a little when he saw it.

It was a much younger version of the man in the picture he had accidentally swiped out of the Pumpkin House. A strange suspicion started to rise in him as he looked over the surface of the photograph. He turned to the man at the desk.

"Uh, sir." He said quietly. The man looked up from his searching and fixed Gregory with an annoyed look, first for asking him to find something in the mess on his desk, and second for interrupting him as he looked.

"What?"

"That guy, in the picture….who is it?" Gregory asked hesitantly. The man looked up at the picture and then back at Gregory. He was wearing a sort of disgusted look.

"That's Hector Skellington." He said, his voice full of aggravation. As he went back to his work Gregory caught something else the man said under his breath which sounded a lot like 'Stupid, foolish, newcomers.' Gregory ignored this.

He looked back up at the picture, took a deep breath and then sighed deeply. There was something wrong here. Something very wrong. Gregory started to go over everything he had heard so far about this town, trying to figure exactly why this felt so off beam. He went over what Jeff had told him the first day, what Mr. Venison had told him, what he had seen in Justin's house, what he had seen in the Pumpkin House, and finally what Mr. Stiltz had told him. He whispered to himself then, receiving a very odd look from the man behind him.

"There all dead. That's what's wrong. All of the Skellingtons are dead. But that guy who lives there now…he looks exactly like…" Gregory was deep in thought when the man behind him said something loudly and made him jump.

"When your done talking to yourself, kindly take your papers and get out of the way of the line so I can help who's next." The man said bitterly. Gregory looked around.

"There isn't anyone else here." He said.

"Just go." The man said and pointed at the door. Gregory rose his brow and left the Town Hall. When he was outside he returned to his thoughts.

Brutus Stiltz was just getting up. It was noon. Normally, he would have been up much earlier, but his alarm clock hadn't seemed to be working on that morning. (This was, of course because he had thrown it across the room the previous morning.)

He swung his front door open and pulled up a rocking chair that had belonged to his wife when she had been alive and sat down to enjoy the nice weather while it lasted. Beside him, as always, was a tall glass of sugarless iced tea.

Brutus' eyes swept over the street, which was almost always dead, considering he was the only one who lived in that part of the neighborhood, as he took in the signs of mid fall. Soon, he thought, Pumpkin…er…Kingston would be cold and lifeless, as winter moved it's way in and pulled Kingston back into a state of semi-normalcy and awareness.

Brutus hated the winter. Not just because it sent his new established arthritis into action, or prevented him from sitting on his beloved porch and sipping on iced tea (Although, those were two very good reasons.) but because, if you lived in Pumpkin Town, before it became Kingston, you always hated winter.

Brutus had lived there since he was six years old, when he came to live with his father after his parents divorced. At that time, Hector had been in his late forties. As a child, one was almost always intrigued by Pumpkin Town and it's unusual owner. He had been no exception. But Hector and the regular thrills of the town was just one of the things that made Pumpkin Town an exciting place to live. As a kid, the best time of the year was Halloween.

In Pumpkin Town, Halloween was unparalleled. It got to the point where the rest of the year became a kind of a countdown. It had a certain…magic about it. When Halloween rolled around, nothing was as it seemed. And everyone, no matter how much of a stiff they were the rest of the year, were sure to act strange on All Hallows Eve. There were no exceptions.

Until Hector passed away, that was. With Hector gone, the magic seemed to go with him. Sure, they still had the celebration every year. And for a while, anyway, he went to it. But it became painfully obvious that Pumpkin Town was no longer the way it used to be.

Some of the towns people liked to believe that they still felt the spirit that Hector had once brought on All Hallows Eve. And, for allBrutus knew, perhaps they did. But he didn't. He didn't feel anything at all. And to him, the town didn't seem all that impressive anymore either. All of the old places, which had had their charm before, had been downsized considerably since those old days. The places that had been old fashioned and charming, now only seemed to be rusted and falling apart.

The same went for the people. As a child, Brutus had found all of the people in Pumpkin town very interesting…but they didn't seem that way anymore. Now, despite what they liked to believe, they appeared to be growing into a normal rule abiding community. He hated it.

The only place that hadn't lost its charm and mystery was the Pumpkin House. Brutus supposed, this was why he still lived on the same street as it, when everyone else in the neighborhood had either moved up to the other part of Kingston, or had moved away entirely. The way Brutus figured, if he stayed near Pumpkin House, maybe the magic still wouldn't be lost on him. So he could at least remember things the way they were, and not be pulled in to all of this normal ordinary dull as dirt bullcrap that Jeff King had drowned them all in, whether they were aware of it or not.

Brutus sighed and took another sip of his tea.

"Almost think those Wayward kids have the right idea." He said softly to himself.

Violet sighed deeply. It hurt to do that. Actually, it hurt to do just about anything. Not that she could do much of anything at the moment. After Stan and George had amused themselves with using both her and her brother as punching bags they had tied (Or rather, Duct taped.) them to a large oak tree. Then, Stan had taken her hat and had kicked Edward in the shins and then both him and George had walked away laughing.

Currently, Violet was trying to figure a way out of the tree. She suspected Edward was doing the same, but assumed that ultimately…it would be up to her.

"Lock…" She said. Her voice sounded sort of scratchy and breathless. This was due to the bruises on her stomach and throat.

"Yah." Edward answered. From the sound of his voice, Violet guessed that he either had a busted lip or had lost a couple teeth.

"Do you still have that pocket knife that you usually carry…or did he take that too."

"Yah, I thill haf it, he juth took my thoes." Violet narrowed her eyes.

"…I have no idea what you just said." She heard a frustrated sigh from the other side of the tree.

"I have it thill!" He yelled back.

"Fine! See if you can get it out." Violet felt the tape pull tighter as Edward struggled to get his hand free of the duct tape.

"Got it!…Thoot!" Violet frowned.

"What did you do?"

"I dropped it." He said softly.

"EDWARD!" She yelled.

"Thorry! Jeeth!" He yelled back. They were both silent for a while.

"Thith Thux." Edward said. Violet felt the tape tighten again as Edward started to struggle on the other side.

'There's no way your getting…" She started to say before she heard a ripping sound from the other side of the tree and then a loud Oof!

"Did you get out?" She asked.

"Yeah…" Edward said. He sounded less then enthusiastic about it, he also sounded twice as nasally as before.

"What's wrong?"

"I juth buthed my Nothe."

"Well, you know…smart people catch themselves with their hands when they fall." Violet said dully. Her brother got up and walked around the tree.

"Do you want let down or not?" He said. He pulled on the tape and got it loose enough for Violet drop out.

"Duct tape." Violet said as she brushed some of her hair, (which had been bothering her for the last thirty minutes) out of her face. "Why didn't we ever think of that?" Edward grinned and threw a piece of tape he had torn off aside.

"Becauthe ropeth work much better." They started to laugh then stopped immediately when it caused sharp pains down their chests and stomachs. They both cried out.

"If that weathel thinkth that thith got him off the hook, he'th wrong! Ath thoon ath my fith thop hurting…"

"Stop…please." Violet said, while putting her hand up. "It's almost painful having to listen to you talk." Edward glared at her a little.

"I can't help it." She ignored him and started to limp back into town.

"Where are you going?" He asked and followed her.

"Home." She said dully.

"But what about our thuff." He said.

"Our what?"

"Our thuff! That we left at Juthin' th plathe."

"Oh…our STUFF. " She sighed. "We'll play rock paper scissors for it. Loser has to go back to Justin's." Edward nodded. They put their hands out in a pounding gesture.

"Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!" Violet cursed. Edward laughed triumphantly when he saw that he had won and started back towards the house. Violet glared after him, then grinned lightly to herself.

"Hey Edward, before you go, let me hear you say scissors." Edward looked back at her, puzzled.

"Thitherth." He frowned and glared at her before turning around and stomping off, which didn't last long when he stepped on a particularly sharp rock and was reminded that he didn't have shoes.

"OW!" He yelled. The rest way up the street she could hear him cursing, which sounded funny along with his busted speech. When he was gone Violet winced and started to limp uncomfortably back to Justin's. She hoped, to herself, that the two boys would not see her. She wasn't sure if she could handle another beating like that…at least…not so close to the first one.

Another part of her was doing exactly what she expected Justin wanted her to. And that was hoping that no one elsein town would see her either.

Gregory knew that he hadn't been having that much luck since his parents died, but it always surprised him when things just went bad all of a sudden. He had been on his way home, going through a number of situations that could make the idea that the man he had met the other day could be related to Hector Skellington a plausible one, when he caught a glimpse of Violet shuffling up the street. She was moving very slowly and was by herself, and when she saw him, and realized that he had seen her, Gregory knew that it was too late and that he was in a lot of trouble. This thought became secondary when he actually got a good look at her.

She looked terrible. She was hunched over and limping. Her face had a few ugly cuts on it and her hair was at least partially mopped with blood. Her arms and legs were bruised, her left eye was getting a wretched purple ring around it and she looked as white as a sheet. But when she saw him some of her color came back…she looked, absolutely furious.

That was another thing about bullies. When they saw the kids they picked on, when they were weak and hurting, it was funny, but when those same kids saw them at points of weakness and pain…they got angry, and were probably even more dangerous then usual. Gregory suddenly found himself wishing that he hadn't looked up at that moment. Given her current physical condition, he didn't think she would have drawn attention to herself by going after him if he hadn't. Now his only chance was to hope that she was too badly beaten up to be able to catch him if he started to run. By the look of her…it was a fairly good chance.

After a few moments it became painfully obvious to Gregory that he wasn't moving. He sighed, knowing, to his own astonished self-loathing, what he meant to do and prayed to himself silently, that she felt as bad as she looked. He then began to approach her slowly.

Whether he intended it to or not, this gave him the upper hand. When Violet saw him moving towards her instead of away from her she became bewildered and hesitant. This was mostly because she knew how she felt and knew that the possibility of kicking the crap out of any kid, even Gregory, in her shape was an impossibility. Even if she could manage it, the result would be more unfortunate to her then the kid receiving the beating. As he approached her he reached into his pocket. He got about ten feet away from her and stopped. She tried to straighten herself, was overcome by pain and gave up. She tightened her jaw and looked at Gregory angrily.

"What do you want?" She said through gritted teeth.

"For you to promise not to touch me when I approach you." He answered. His voice sounded a lot more confident then he felt. He was glad it hadn't betrayed him…yet.

"Why should I?" Violet asked. She tried to grin threateningly, but failed and settled for a sort of half evil half sick smirk. He didn't appear too threatened by it. Personally, she didn't blame him and was just glad she didn't have to see herself trying to pull it off.

"Because, if you do, I'll tell everyone that I saw you."

"No one likes you." Violet said, but Gregory saw a flicker of fear in her eyes.

"But they don't like you either. If I tell them your this weak…they may try and take advantage of it." He narrowed his own eyes now, feeling a great deal more confident then he had. He heard the sound of Violet's teeth scraping against each other until, finally, her challenging look fell into one of anger and defeat.

"Fine!" She said, through gritted teeth. Gregory nodded, relieved. After a moment of hesitation he approached her.

What Violet expected and what Gregory had in mind were two very different things. Violet expected that Gregory was still ticked off about the wooden box, and the beating they had given him the day before. What she assumed he was doing was blackmailing her, quite well, actually, and then trying to get a cheap shot in on her while she was down. What he did, was pull a photograph out of his pocket, which he then held up for her to look at.

"I want you to answer a few questions." Gregory said, his voice switching into a business like tone.

Well, here's another chapter finished. Please tell me if it's totally awful and I'll try to fix it a little. I may update once more on this story before moving back to my other two, only because I've got this story planned out a little better then the other two. I don't know, it depends. Thank you for your reviews. I'm getting to a point in this story where stuff will actually start happening and secrets will be revealed, but I still have no idea when the story is going to end. Please review! Thanx.


	14. Getting A Bit Uneasy

Chapter Thirteen:

Getting A Bit Uneasy

Violet's face cleared when she began to comprehend what Gregory had said and for a moment she looked completely lost.

"Wha..?" She said, staring at the picture bewilderedly.

"I need to ask you some questions about the people in this photograph." Gregory said, looking at her uncomfortably. She seemed to mentally shake herself out of her unexpected silence and took a closer look at the picture. She had seen it before…of course she had, just earlier that day in fact, when she had been going through old photographs in the tree house. When she saw it was the same photo her face hardened a little and she snatched it quickly out of Gregory's hand.

"Where did you get this?" She said harshly. Gregory looked startled for a moment before his face cleared.

"I got it yesterday at the Pumpkin House. I accidentally picked it up." Violet took her eyes off the photo and examined Gregory's face grudgingly.

"You liar. You didn't go into thePumpkin House."

"Yeah I did." He said, sounding a little defensive. Violet stared at him for a moment longer with something like disbelief written across her face.

"Uh huh, there's no way you and Justin set foot in that house!" There was a certain annoyance edging in her voice.

"Well…no, Justin didn't go inside. He stayed in the backyard…" Gregory's voice dropped sulkily. "And ran away when I got in trouble…but I did." Violets eyes were widening in a way that made Gregory feel very uncomfortable (And a bit like running.)

"You…you actually went inside?" Her voice sounded weak again.

"Yeah. I even got caught. You can ask the guy who lives there if you don't believe me." He realized he must of said something wrong because at that point Violet was looking at him with an expression of stupid silence. She didn't say anything for a long time. When she did her voice was filled with something that Gregory was not used to hearing and something that Violet was not used to displaying. This was mixed awe and admiration.

"Well that'd be pretty difficult considering you're the only person who's ever seen the guy." She shook her head and the unfamiliar look vanished. It was replaced by a weary sort of soberness and impatience. She was beginning to feel an unfortunate mix of weariness and bitter ache throughout her entire body. If she stood there much longer, she felt she might actually pass out. She handed the photo back to him.

"That's my dad, on the right. I have the same picture. The other two guys are Hector and Viktor Skellington. The picture was taken right after they rebuilt the school. That was nearly twenty years ago, I think. Six or Seven years before Hector went belly up, seven before I was born and about fifteen years before my dad died. Can I go now?" Gregory was watching her carefully. The whole time she spoke, she did it like she had every word memorized. She had looked at the photo the entire time. When she looked up and saw the expression on his face she glared at him.

"What?" She snapped at him. Gregory shook his head quickly.

"Nothing!" He said. "Just one other thing. Are there any other Skellingtons…I mean…I heard they all died. Is it possible that…one of them is still….living?" He struggled through the words uncomfortably.

"They all died." Violet said simply. Gregory's reaction was that of perplexity as he looked back down at the picture in his hand. She looked past Gregory's face and started walking in the direction she had been going again. She only got a few steps when something nagged at her from the back of her mind. As the thought arose she stopped and turned back to Gregory slowly.

"Why did you ask that?" Gregory blinked and turned towards her.

"It's just…the guy I met…who owns the house…looks SO much like these guys. I mean…he looks like he's related…so maybe…"

"How old was he?" She said, interrupting him.

"Well, he looked a lot older then he probably was. But…he could have been in his twenties…without the bags under his eyes and ill demeanor." Violet swallowed hard. She felt a chill run down her back. There was a haunted look in her eyes. Gregory began to feel a little spooked and almost wished that she would do something more expected, like punch him in the gut and tell him he was full of it or something. Instead she did what was almost the worst possible thing she could have (Although Gregory could have put himself in a couple of odder situations.) when she went entirely pale and fell to the ground like a brick. Gregory jumped, totally and completely shaken. He had never witnessed someone passing out before and it was a scary sight. The fact that he was alone was even worse.

After a moment of not knowing at all what to do Gregory approached her slowly and rolled her over on her back. He leaned over her and shook her a little by the shoulder.

"Violet?" Nothing happened. He slapped her lightly in the face. When she still wasn't waking up he took a more brutal stride and performed the remedy his grandfather used to execute on him when he was sleeping in too long or too deeply. He grabbed the edge of her ear in between his nails and pinched her hard. Violets eyes shot open and she let out a cry of pain and rage. She hit his hand away forcefully.

"You are going to be sorry you did that Lock-" She stopped abruptly when she saw him. For a moment she looked very disoriented. It seemed to pass over her after a moment.

"What happened?" She said quickly when she was in her right frame of mind again.

"You fainted." Gregory said. Violet put her finger to her ear and held it there for a moment. When she pulled it away he saw that it was bleeding. She glared at him.

"Gee…thanks." She said sarcastically. Gregory stood up and took a step back, just in case.

"Hey…it worked." Violet sighed heavily and stood. She wobbled for a moment then seemed to maintain some kind of balance. Gregory was staring at her worriedly. He wasn't sure what to do if it happened again and was really hoping it wouldn't. She looked at him and was filled with irrational anger. It wasn't because of the fact that he had drawn blood, or that he had kept her there, or even because he had seen her first beaten badly and then pass out. She was suddenly very angry at him because he was watching her with a certain amount of concern. The two expressions Violet hated the most on people were pity and concern. Gregory must have sensed her anger because he backed off, which was just as well for him. If he hadn't, she might have tried to beat him up even in her current condition.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she just started walking again in the direction towards Justin's house. Gregory's quiet voice followed her.

"Isn't your house in the other direction?" He asked. He was aware that he was really pushing his luck now. Especially with the way things had been going, Gregory was really beginning to think he couldn't afford such a luxury.

Violet sighed heavily.

"Yeah. I'm going to Justin's to get my stuff. Do yourself a favor an blow off before I decided to book you in mentally for the beating of your life." Gregory looked down at the papers he had in his hand. He winced as he stopped Violet again.

"Well…I'm going in that direction anyway. I can get your stuff and…you know…give it to you later." Violet stopped and looked at him with a certain amount of darkness brooding in her eyes.

"You are really asking for it." When Gregory didn't seem to be backing off Violets gaze became weary. She WAS tired and she really didn't think it was a good idea to go to Justin's anyway, what with those two monsters roaming around. The fact that she had just passed out, and was still feeling a little shaky just added to that uneasiness. She shook her head in a defeated manner.

"Fine, but if you forget any of it, or do anything to it, I'll make you wish you'd never moved to this town." She turned away from the direction she was heading in and began to walk towards her house. As she passed him Gregory caught the last low words she was saying as she did.

"All of this kindness makes me want to puke." She didn't say anything else to him. Gregory sighed, relieved, when he realized that he wasn't going to get mutilated by her. He walked slowly towards Justin's house, for the moment, neither him or Violet thought about the Pumpkin House or the Skellingtons.

* * *

_In his dream, he was shivering. He was shivering because it was raining and his father had just past away. It was a chill, which went far beneath the skin and bone, down to the very fiber of his being…the very elements of his soul. He felt it through his heart, where it stuck like a dagger. He couldn't breath. His hands were cold and sweaty. His eyes burned from tears that would not come. His head pounded so painfully that he could not see or think straight. Then he felt a warm wet sensation on his face. It moved to his eye._

Jack woke up and came face to face with his dog, Zero, who had been licking him in his sleep. When reality washed back in, all of the pain was swept away. He was grateful for that. He sat up and smiled at the small dog who had wondered onto the couch where he had fallen asleep. His glance happened to fall to the grandfather clock. It was a remarkable thing, it even showed the date. Jack sighed.

"Time to pack up, eh boy? We can't be here when Halloween rolls around." He stood up and patted Zero on the head. His eyes fell to the corner of the room, where they landed on a small red box full of a number of rather mischievous looking tools. It had been left there the day that boy had broken into his house. Jack frowned. He had told the boy he could come back if he wanted, but he hadn't seen him that day. Jack shrugged. He'd be there for a whole other day. If the boy didn't show up then to retrieve it, he'd just leave the box out on the front step or something.

He stood up and crossed the room to the window. By then, the moon was out, high in the sky, and the sun was starting to inch towards the horizon. His eyes scoped the street. On the left, the old rickety house of Brutus Stiltz stood lonely. It was the only one which still looked livable on that road. The others were growing old and desolate. They held the same air of all old abandoned houses. Brutus' was beginning to look that way too. After all, when one was the only person who lived in a house all year around and they were surrounded by old decaying houses, their own abode began to resemble that of the ones around them. It was just one of those things one could not help.

Jack sighed.

"Well…I guess I've had my break. I should get back to work so I have something to show when I go back to LA tomorrow." He patted Zero on the head and headed up the stairs to sit at his desk and attempt to work on a design he had been at since he had came and made his monthly visit to the town.

Jack suffered a terrible case of insomnia. This last month had been one of his worst. His best being that he got in at least six hours of sleep in every night of the week, his worst meant that he had gotten no more then six hours of sleep in for the whole week. Once he even went two weeks without sleeping hardly at all. That period had been awful. He had become very sick and had almost died.But that hadn't happened again since his father had perished.

Jack figured he was finally getting over the bad spell though. He always napped when he was getting over a particularly bad case of insomnia. Sometimes he thought that the only time he would ever sleep easy was when he was finally dead.

He got back to work on his design, but only managed a few sketchy ideas before he dozed off again. He wasn't awake when the lights in the house flickered on and off and never noticed that a few things were missing when he woke up.

* * *

Jack wasn't the only one in town with a sleeping problem. As he got older and older, Jeff King was finding himself sleeping less and less. He knew his wife and son noticed it too, but he could care less what either of them said or noticed. They all hated him. Everyone hated him. He didn't care.

Sitting in his study with a book on his desk and a mass of files stacked up beside him, Jeff was busy with what appeared to be work. What he really was doing was drawing odd pictures on the sides of his paper and thinking about various troubling things. There seemed to be so many those days.

Halloween was the most obvious. It was coming up again. Jeff always felt uneasy around Halloween, although he could not explain why. It was just a holiday, but the people in Kingston, they treated it like so much more. Their celebration felt almost ritualistic to Jeff, like they were trying to bring Hector right out of his grave. It sounded silly, yes, but compared to the rest of the things that slept in the depths of this town and in Jeff's own mind, perhaps not too silly.

Another thing was the new family which had moved in. this was another thing that Jeff could not rationalize. From the moment they had set foot in town Jeff had been wary of them. It was the first time someone new moved into town. Jeff didn't like it. By all rights it should have relieved him. There were finally people in Kingston who knew less about the town then himself. Instead, it worried him.

The boy especially worried him. After talking with Justin again, earlier that day, he had found out that his own son had not set foot in Pumpkin House, but Gregory had. Jeff didn't like that. From now on, he would have to watch Gregory, maybe observe him more closely. Perhaps he could invite the Garret's over for dinner one time that week or something and talk to theboy in private. He wasn't sure if she knew what Gregory had been up to or not, but he would make sure that he was aware of who was in charge.

Then, there were what Jeff referred to as the misfits of town. Edward and Violet Wayward and the nutty Brutus Stiltz. They weren't usually a problem because the whole town was either angry or uneasy about them, but they were the only people who were really hanging on to the spirit of their old town these days.

Jeff sighed. Perhaps it was time to consider doing something about them. He didn't think it would be difficult. If they seemed to pose a real threat, Jeff thought he could have them removed easily. After all, if either of the Wayward kids stepped over the line again he could easily see to it that they be shipped off to any behavioral school or perhaps even any jail in the country, certainly, their mother would not object. As for Brutus Stiltz, the man wasn't old and he was certainly not senile, but maybe he was just nutty enough to be put in a kind of mental ward slash retirement home prematurely, if Jeff suggested it.

Jeff smiled. He was suddenly feeling much better then he had all week.

To Skeleton The Wanderer: Haha! The greatest victory of my life! I had no spelling errors in my last post. (Or at least, none that you could find.) Wow…that must have been luck or something…cause that never happens.

To everyone: Ooh, I'm getting close. Not very close, but close none the less. I think I may go onto one of my other stories for a bit now, but with the way this is going and progressing I will definitely be updating on it again soon as well. But I have a feeling I should be getting back on The Law of Your Anarchic Demise again first. I've updated Pumpkin Town and Special Keys For Special Doors twice since I last updated on that one. (Maybe more.) Thank you for reading my story and thank you for your reviews!


	15. Garetty’s Den

Chapter Fourteen:

Garetty's Den

When Violet got back to her and Edwards house it was pitch black outside. She thought for a moment about going straight out to the tree house, but a fresh stab of pain decided for her that the house would be better. The thought of climbing into the wooden structure and sitting out in the cold October weather did not strike her as pleasant.

She sighed and walked up to the front door. It was unlocked, as it always was. Carolyn rarely remembered to lock it. Violet thought it was due to a secret wish that some captor should break in the house sometime and steal her and Edward away. Despite this, Violet locked it when she got inside.

The house was dark and as far as she could tell, no one was up. She walked in a little ways and looked to the right into an open room (Something she did every time she entered her house.) Her eyes fell on a large photo over the fireplace with her, her brother, and her father in it. Tonight, an uncommon sorrow washed over her. She tried to ignore it as she walked up the stairs to her room.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she turned left down the hall where her and Edward's rooms were and ran into her mother who was standing in the hallway with her arms across her chest. Violet groaned. She really didn't feel like putting up with Carolyn on this evening.

"Wow Carolyn, I really thought you'd be passed out somewhere by now." Violet said weakly, while giving her mother a dark look. Carolyn's lips thinned and without warning she slapped her daughter across the face. This hurt a lot more then Violet let on due to the numerous bruises on her face already. Still she forced a grin at her mother after the pain subsided a bit.

"You stupid, wicked girl!" Her mother said, obviously not pleased with her attitude at all. "I've already told your brother that as soon as I get the chance I'm looking up Behavioral schools! Either that, or foster homes, although I doubt any of them would take you!"

"Why? We didn't do anything!" Violet said a little angrily.

"Yeah right. Like I believe that you two were innocent in this. Whatever happened tonight was probably your fault, because everything is your fault! I'm so sick of it! I can't get along with anyone in town because of you two!"

"You can't get along with anyone in town because you're a drunk and everyone thinks you've lost your mind since dad died."

Carolyn glared at her daughter and slapped her again, and continued to do so as she spoke.

"Liar!" Slap. "This is…" Slap. "All…" Slap. "Your…" Slap. "FAULT!" Slap. The last time she went to slap her, Violet reeled back. Carolyn missed and stumbled a little awkwardly as she almost lost her balance. It appeared that she had been drinking a little tonight previous to their meeting.

Carolyn grinded her teeth absently and grabbed her daughter by the sleeve.

"Just get out of my sight and go to bed!" She shoved her in the direction of her room then walked slowly towards her own. Violet stuck her tongue out at her back, then put her hand on her cheek and walked into her room. She kicked at something in the dark as she passed it.

"Ow!" Violet stopped and raised her brow. She flipped on her light switch and turned towards her brother who was sitting on the floor of her bedroom.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked. "Isn't that Gregory's cat?" She added, in reference to a very livid cat which rested in her brothers arms. He nodded.

"Yeah, I caught the ugly thing in our backyard. It wath eating thuff." The cat clawed at Edwards arm. He cursed at it and let it go. Violet watched as it dodged under her bed.

"I don't care if that cat maims you, somehow your getting it out of my room." She told him. He ignored her.

"Did you get our thuff?" He asked. Violet cleared her throat and sat on her bed.

"Yes." She lied.

"Where ith it?" Edward asked, while standing up.

"It's…outside…somewhere." She said as she kicked off her shoes and peeled her socks from her feet.

"Well, get them, I left my favorite pocket knife at Juthins."

"Can't it wait, I'm tired tonight." She said angrily. Edward rose his brow.

"You did…get the thuff…didn't you?"

"Yes! I got the freaking stuff!" She threw her shoe at him. Edward dodged it, feeling a sharp pain in his chest as he did so.

"Chill out!" He said as he stood up, wincing as he did. "Jeeth, I jutht want to know where are thuff ith!" Violet sighed and walked out of her room. Edward followed her after a moment, watching her back in curiosity. Lately she had been acting very strange, not at all like herself.

Violet sauntered down the stairs and up to the front door, not entirely sure what she meant to do as she opened it. She stuttered at the entrance before she intended to walk out, instead, she took a small step back. Their stuff was lying on the front step. Edward joined her a second later. He leaned down and gathered up the stuff before tossing her a strange look.

"Why'd you put our thuff outhide the front door?" He asked. He rose his brow when he saw Violet peering out into the darkness bewilderingly.

"Violet?" She shook her head and looked at him.

"Because I felt like it. Come on." She picked up the remainder of their things and closed the door. Edward started to walk upstairs, when he realized his sister wasn't following him. He tossed a look back at her. She was standing at the door still, apparently in deep thought.

"Are you coming or not?" He asked, a little annoyed at his sisters behavior. She seemed to snap out of her thoughts and shook her head.

"No. Go ahead."

Edward watched her for a moment. He sighed in frustration then slowly walked the rest of the way up the stairs. When he turned left down the hall, Violet set down their things and walked silently down the hall. At the end was a door which looked as though it were not meant to beentered and hadn't been for some time. She crept inside into the darkness and the musty smell of dust and old paper.

She felt along the wall and flipped the switch that illuminated the tiny room, then slowly closed the French doors, which were usually never closed behind her. The stillness of the room was a bit unsettling, this effected her especially with the large photo of her father watching her from above the fireplace.

Violet tore her eyes away from her fathers and walked slowly across the room to her fathers desk, which sat against a window that was closed up with the blinds drawn. She sat down in an old chair,sending dust flying up around her and pulled up to the wooden surface of her fathers writing table.

She did not feel entirely comfortable doing this. No one had sat in it since he had died. This was made evident by the layer of dust over the chair and the desk itself. On its surface sat a large map of a building, obviously something her father had been working on shortly before he met his demise. Beside this, in a lovely frame, was a picture of her and her brother. Violet cringed at this a little, in disapproval of how innocent they both looked. She turned the photo over.

It was the photo beside that one which held her interest. It detained the image of three men and a boy who was about eleven years old. The men were her father, who stood in the center, Viktor Skellington, who stood to his right, Brutus Stiltz, on his left, and the boy, who was very thin and wearing a grin which almost mirrored his father's, was Jack Skellington. Violet had never met him or his father, she had been very young when Viktor died and his son disappeared. Still, she knew who they were because her father had told her.

Violet put her elbow on her fathers desk and rested her chin in her palm. She stared at the picture as though she were expecting it to do something. After a while her mind began to wonder and her eyes fell from the photograph.

Her head started to ache a little as several thoughts conflicted within it. On the one hand, She was still having a hard time believing that Gregory had gone into Pumpkin House, but could not figure any other way he had gotten the photograph. It made sense that the only other person who would have had it was a Skellington. She supposed that Justin could have gotten it somehow. She knew that his father had a lot of stuff that had once belonged to the Skellingtons. And that Perhaps Gregory and Justin were still trying to get back at her and her brother together.

Violet sighed and buried her face in her hands. That didn't make any sense. Why would Jeff want a photo of her father, Hector and Viktor. Besides, if Gregory was still trying to get his revenge, he wouldn't have actually brought their stuff back to them.

Then there was always the possibility that whoever he had seen at Pumpkin House hadn't been anyone of any significance and he just thoughthe had looked like Viktor Skellington. This made sense because Gregory hadn't been in Pumpkin Town for that long…how would he know what Viktor looked like…even with a picture.

Finally there was the alternative, a thing which she could not bring herself to believe and that was that Gregory had been telling the truth and had found someone. Jack Skellington perhaps? Violet shook her head vigorously.

"He's dead." She whispered to herself.

'No.' An inward voice responded. 'They just told you he was dead. He's not even burried in the graveyard here, who's to say he hasn't been rightthere in that housethis whole time.'

"That's impossible." And she thought it was, but Violet didn't think she'd get it off of her mind until she found out for sure.

She stood up from her fathers desk and walked across the room, back to the French doors. Her eyes had begun to grow heavy. She had made a decision…but was not sure if it would sound as good to her in the morning after she had gotten some rest.

As she left the small room, her fathers lifeless eyes followed her, that was, at least, until they were covered by darkness.

The next morning, when Gregory woke up he did so with a very strange feeling. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it did not leave him as he ate breakfast or started out to the school. The feeling was of mounting unease. If he had been the sort of person who believed in spiritual stuff, he'd probably think it was some sort of ominous premonition, but since he was not, he just tried to ignore it so that he could get through his day.

But anyone in town (For a great many of them did believe in spiritual stuff.) could have told him it would do him no good. He was feeling what they were all feeling. Something strange was happening. A thing which could not occur in ordinary Kingston. No, this was the sort of thing that could only happen in Pumpkin Town.

The rest of the town figured that something important was going to occur on the anniversary of Hector Skellingtons death. But for Gregory, things began to get strange on the morning of October 21st, when he came across Violet, who was waiting for him, on the way school.

He would not reach the Kingston School on that morning.

Sorry, this chapters a bit short…and it may be a bit badly written too, I'm not thinking too clearly due to a cold and a lack of sleep. Still, I hope you enjoy it. I'll update soon. Thank you for your reviews!


	16. An Invitation To Dinner

To Senko: I'm glad you enjoy the story. By all means, hate Jeff…actually…I hate him too…I try to update as often as possible, but I have three other stories going on too so I'm sort of trying to go back and forth between all of them.

To all: Thank you very much for your reviews!

Chapter Fifteen:

An Invitation To Dinner

Gregory felt a dropping sensation in his stomach when he saw Violet was standing between him and the school. For Gregory, it was far too early in the morning for conflict. He thought briefly of taking a different way to the building…it would be longer, but from where he was standing, any other way would be safer as well. He was just about to do this when Violet caught his eye.

She had been leaning against a street sign with her arms crossed over her chest in obvious discomfort due to the events of the previous day. When she saw him she straightened and dropped her arms to her sides, then, to Gregory's absolute horror she started to walk in his direction. At this point, Gregory realized, it would be impossible to avoid her. He cursed lightly beneath his breath.

Gregory watched as she approached. He tried to look unruffled, but had a feeling he wasn't doing well. He expected to see some pleasure in her expression in response to his obvious distress, what he saw instead, when she stopped in front of him was weariness and a sort of foreboding that did not fit her demeanor.

"Hey Gregory." Violet said dully.

Gregory rose his brow and took a step back.

"Hi." He returned suspiciously.

Violet rolled her eyes.

"I'm not here to beat you up. I'm just here because of the things you said yesterday."

Gregory looked at her doubtfully for a moment.

"Okay…" He said slowly.

Violet removed a pack that had been hung over her shoulder, she talked in a low voice as she did. Gregory listened, but in a confused, wary sort of way. After a few moments, when he started to finally accept that she wasn't, in fact, there to make his life any more miserable he began to relax.

"I was in my dads den last night looking at this picture he had sitting on his desk for a really long time and I was thinking about how you said that you saw a guy who looked a lot like Viktor…and even if I still think that its impossible and I still don't believe you, I brought the picture just to make sure."

Violet pulled a framed Photograph from her back pack and held it out to Gregory who was looking at her in a very odd way. He looked down at the picture and took it without really knowing why he was doing so and then stared at it for a long moment without really seeing it. When his momentary lapse passed he scanned the picture, wondering, briefly, what he was looking for.

Gregory was a bit surprised when he realized that he could identify everyone in the picture in his hands…at least to some degree. He saw Viktor Skellington, Garetty Wayward, and Brutus Stiltz with no problem…although, Garetty and Viktor looked a bit older in the picture and Brutus looked a bit younger. Gregory's eyes fell on the young boy. He rose his eyebrows, suddenly overcome with strange excitement.

"That's him…I mean…he looks a lot younger…" Violet snatched the picture away from him. He looked up at her a little startled.

"Who is that?" He asked, already having some idea who it was and not sure whether or not he wanted an answer.

"It's Jack Skellington." She said, her eyes narrowing.

"Isn't he dead?"

"Officially…yes…he is, but the only proff anyone in town has of that is the word of the men who were searching for him. He isn't burried here like his father and Viktor."

"Well…" Gregory said slowly. "It's...not official then?"

Violet threw the picture back into her pack and zipped it up hurriedly. She said something heated beneath her breath. Gregory just barely caught it.

"I bet you didn't even go into Pumpkin House."

Gregory glared at her.

"Did too! Just because your too afraid to go doesn't mean that I didn't!" Violet stood up angrily.

"I'd watch it Garret! I can make your life a living hell!" Violet cracked her knuckles loudly.

"Well you wouldn't have to try very hard!" Gregory yelled back. Violet leaned over him with a very livid look on her face.

"If you think I can't do worse then what I have already, then your in for a very miserable awakening Gregory."

Gregory knew that it would be wise to stand down at that moment. He could then, perhaps, get to school in one piece. And that was exactly what he intended to do. It was for this reason that he was so surprised when he realized that he wasn't doing it.

"I doubt that you could do any worse then you already have, Wayward! (He added her last name as an after thought and cringed lightly due to the odd way it sounded on his lips before he continued.) I am so sick of this! I have been having the worst luck, but you know what would really improve my mood. If for once, just one time…I could see you, your brother, and all of your stupid photographs going over the side of your stupid bridge. Maybe if I get really lucky, I'll get to see how you react to losing everything you care about!" He started to walk away, only slowing to add something else to his line of speech. "If you and your brother care about anything at all!"

Violet watched him for a moment, a little taken aback. When she regained her composure, she wasn't sure if she was angry, or impressed. She settled for being a bit of both and hurried after him to stop him before he got too worked up.

Despite his quick pace, it didn't take her too long to catch up with him. She grabbed him by his collar and yanked him back. He obviously wasn't happy about this.

"Will you just leave me alone!" He yelled. She let go of his collar and he stumbled a bit before regaining his step. He straightened his shirt and gave her a dark look.

There must have been something in her face that cooled him off a bit, for when he looked at her his face evened out and he raised his eyebrow.

"What do you want?" He asked, while tossing a longing look towards the school… and safety.

"You said you've been in Pumpkin House…"

"Yeah…so?"

"So prove it. Take me there." Gregory looked at her in surprise.

"Your crazy! I got caught twice last time!"

"Yeah…" Violet said, as though this fact should be obvious. "You were with Justin King…of course you were caught! This time you'll be with me and if it's one thing me and Edward are good at, it's not getting caught at stuff." She said.

Gregory was watching her with wide eyes.

"Why should I do anything you say?"

"Because! You want to figure out what's going on, right?"

"Yeah?" He answered hesitantly.

"Well, so do I."

"Ok…"

"Ok…so come on." She turned and started in the direction of Pumpkin House.

"What…now!" Gregory said in disbelief.

"Yeah, now."

"But I have to go to school!" Gregory said in a startled manner. Violet rolled her eyes and grabbed him by his arm.

"Stop being such a dork and come on. Your skipping today."

Gregory found this news quite unsettling, but thought it was best not to push his luck any further by arguing with her. He only hoped his aunt wouldn't figure out that he skipped. That was the last thing he needed.

It was 9:15 A.M when Jack woke up. He did so groggily and with a fuzzy mind and for a few minutes he was unable to grasp what time it was as he stared at his alarm clock. When he finally woke up enough to read the tiny pumpkin shaped timepiece his eyes widened and he jumped out of bed hastily.

"Oh great!" He yelled loudly as he crossed the room to his dresser and threw open the first two drawers. On the floor, on a faded red cushion, Zero rose his groggy head and followed his master with his eyes.

"Wake up Zero, we're already two hours past the time I was hoping to leave this morning!" Jack nudged the dog with his bare toe as he quickly dressed. The first time he tried to button up the white blouse he had speedily thrown on, he missed two of the buttons and had to do it over. He cursed loudly when he did the same thing a second time.

Finally, when his blouse and dress pants were on, and after he located a dress coat (That he had apparently stuffed in one of his desk drawers when he was half asleep the night before.) He gathered up a stack of papers on the desks wooden surface and exited his room in a hurry. Zero followed close at his heel.

Jack threw the papers in a large portfolio that was sitting in the hall and spun around to face the large mirror that was hanging on the opposite side. He frowned, made an attempt to flatten his unruly black hair, and then quickly gave it up when he found it wasn't working. He peered a little closer to the mirror and tossed Zero a half smile.

"Well, at least the bags under my eyes have lessened a bit." He said quietly, as he bended down and picked up the portfolio.

"Come on Zero." The dog barked loudly in response and followed his master down the stairs. Jack did his regular leaving routine quickly and without much precision due to his impatience, only hoping that it would be well enough to keep the house in decent shape before he returned, which he planned to do before Halloween

He always made Pumpkin Towns Halloween celebration. A thing, which he was technically not suppose to do. For this reason he had to be especially careful when he drove back into town. He always exchanged his car, lending it to one of his friends for the holiday and in turn, taking theirs. He always took the back road into town and finally, he always made sure he had an absolutely unrecognizable costume, a thing, which given his line of work, was a very easy thing to do. His costume was the most important thing. For Halloween, was the only time he left Pumpkin House and actually joined in with the residents of Pumpkin Town in there celebration.

'Kingston that is.' He thought to himself and rolled his dark eyes.

He had to make sure on Halloween that certain people didn't recognize him.

As Jack started to head out of the house he spotted the small tool box laying on his counter. He frowned.

"Oh well. I'll just leave it in the back. Hopefully the child will come back and get it." He grabbed the box and headed out the back door. (He always took the back door, in case Brutus was on his front porch drinking his tea.) As he did, he locked it carefully and set the box gently on the small step.

The sunlight hit Jack as he stepped into his backyard and began around to the door that led to his garage.

"Let's hope Jeff has decided to sleep in this morning." He said casually, to no one in particular as he pulled some sunglasses from his coat pocket and slipped them on. It promised to be a nice October morning.

Luckily for Jack, although Jeff was not sleeping in, he was too absorbed in other matters to notice, for the first time in the last couple of weeks, that Jack's car was leaving town. At around the time that Jack had strolled out to his garage and Violet and Gregory had started towards Pumpkin House, Jeff had stepped up to the Garrets front door and had knocked, while putting on his most pleasant face.

Anne answered, and was very pleased to see Jeff standing at her door. She had been in a fairly good mood since that morning, when Apathy showed up on the front step after being missing for several days.

"Good morning Mr. King. And to what do I owe this pleasure?" She said, while cradling her cat in her arms. Jeff smiled broadly.

"Well, I'm afraid that with so much on my mind, due to this towns annual Halloween celebration, I completely neglected to show you my full hospitality."

"Nonsense. You've been wonderful." Anne said quickly. Jeff feigned modesty and chuckled lightly.

"Still, I would love it if you and your son…"

"Nephew."

"Sorry, nephew, would join me and my family for dinner this evening."

Anne looked very pleased with this offer.

"Oh yes! That would be wonderful! I have noticed that our boys have been getting along." Jeff's grin widened so much that it looked in danger of cracking.

"Indeed. So have I. I know my son would be glad to have Gregory over."

Anne smiled and nodded.

"Wonderful. Would you like to come in for coffee Mr. King?"

Jeff looked past her into her house. There was something strange brewing within his retina.

"That would be very nice. You should give me a tour while your at it. I'd love to see what you've done with the place. Not to mention, I need to be refurnishing my son's room. It would be nice to see what a fine boy like Gregory's done with his."

Anne smiled and let Jeff in. As the front door shut a large black car drove down the street. The only person who saw it go was Brutus Stiltz, who watched it, as he always did, in focused concentration.

There we go, another chapter down. I'm probably going to try to update in a Kingdom Hearts story next (Because it's been forever since I've done so." But I'll be back on my Nightmare Before Christmas stories soon and will have updates, as always, very shortly. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter.


	17. In The Pumpkin House Again

Chapter Sixteen:

In The Pumpkin House Again

Gregory watched as the Pumpkin House rose into view as him and Violet reached the end of the street. Violet was a little ways ahead of him and he was finding it difficult to keep up with her. He wondered, dully, how far behind he would've been if she wasn't injured.

She started to walk off the road.

"Where are you going?" Gregory asked.

"Back way."

Gregory looked down the street they had been walking on. It appeared, to him, to be completely deserted. He tossed a bewildered look back at Violet.

"Um…isn't this street…always empty, even during the day?"

Violet rolled her eyes. Then, to his confusion, she ripped back one of his long sleeves.

"What are you…" She pulled back his right sleeve uncovering his watch. Then, in order to see the time she grabbed his arm and pulled his wrist to her eyes. Gregory yelled in protest, and then stumbled when she threw his arm away. He caught his balance and scowled at her.

"It's a little after 10:00." Violet said.

"You could have just asked me for the time you know!" Gregory said, annoyance edging into his voice. Violet ignored him.

"What does it being 10:00 have to do with anything anyway?" Gregory asked as he pulled his sleeves back down.

"Brutus is out on his porch every morning at 9:00. He drinks a cup of coffee, then two glasses of tea. At 10:00 he should be just starting on his second glass of iced tea."

Gregory watched her with a raised eyebrow. She caught his glance and frowned.

"What?" She questioned a little testily.

"Why do you know that?" He asked, while giving her a strange look.

"I told you. Me and Edward are experts. Come on." She started to walk again. Gregory followed, occasionally tossing uncertain looks at the looming shape of Pumpkin House, which seemed to grow larger and more ominous as they approached.

As they reached the fence Violet removed her pack and began searching in it. She pulled out a few small instruments, which she placed in the pockets of her jacket.

"Leave your backpack here." She said while kicking her pack off to one side. Gregory took his backpack off and tossed it up against the fence.

He watched as Violet proceeded to climb the enclosure, a thing she did with experience and great agility. Gregory stared at the fence and glared at her as she dropped to the other side.

"You know there's an opening about fifty feet down, don't you?" Violet grinned at him wickedly.

"I know, I just wanted to see how amusing it would be to watch you climb the fence." She said this as she pulled the instruments out of her pockets. His eyes narrowed.

"I hate you so much." He said bitterly. She snickered and turned away towards the house.

"Hurry up Greg." She said as she began to walk away.

Gregory sighed and attempted to climb the fence, he did so without near as much difficulty as he assumed he would, but was still very glad that she wasn't watching him.

When he got over he followed after her to the back porch. She had stopped there and was watching the back door with a kind of apprehension.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he walked up beside her. She seemed to mentally shake herself out of her trepidation and walked up towards the door. Gregory looked off to the side and spotted the red tool box sitting on the far side of the tiny porch. He walked towards it and picked it up. Violets gaze shifted towards his. A look of perplexity washed over her face when she saw the box.

"Hey, isn't that Edwards?" Gregory nodded and handed it to her.

"Why is it here?" She asked. She gave Gregory a suspicious look.

"Justin had it." Gregory returned nervously.

Violet took the tool box and for a moment, stared at Gregory with a sort of resentfulness. He grew a little uncomfortable under the weight of her gaze and was relieved when she opened the tool box and started to look inside.

"Holy crap, what did that scrawny dork do to these?" She said as she pulled out an obviously mangled looking tool.

"He tried to open the door with them." Gregory answered. Violet rolled her eyes. She pulled out of tool that still looked as though it were in its rightful shape and pulled it up to the screen door. Less then a minute later she slid it back and started to work on the lock to the inner door. The door clicked as it unlocked.

"So…" Violet said. "How long did it take him." She pulled the door open.

"A little over an hour…but I'm starting to think the door was already unlocked and we just didn't bother to check it."

"Probably." Violet said.

"How'd you get so good at it?" He asked, a little cautiously.

"How do you think? Edwards even better at it then I am…one of the few things he's genius at…well…the only thing he's genius at…that boy is so stupid." The last part she said under breath and mostly to herself.

Violet looked into the door and fell silent. The kitchen stretched out from the back door and was bathed in shadows. When she didn't seem to move for a while Gregory raised his brow.

"Uh…are you going in?" Violet tossed an annoyed look at him which turned back to a nervous gaze as she peered back into the house.

"Yeah. I was…just making sure that there was no one there." Gregory waited for a moment then proceeded to take matters into his own hands and walked into the kitchen himself. Violet simply watched him for a moment. He was really beginning to think that, like Justin, she would just stay on the back step. Instead, she followed after him, a little guardedly.

She closed the back door behind her and looked around the room.

The grandfather clock in the corner began playing the first two verses of a song, which marked off the half hour. Violet jumped at the sound and looked towards the clock as though she were angry at it for making her do so.

Gregory pretended to not have seen her, for his own well being and continued into the next room. She followed him, while tossing both curious and nervous looks about her.

"What are we looking for exactly?" Gregory asked. Violet jumped again when he spoke. This made him stare at her for a moment in bewilderment. She glared at him and then seemed oblivious to his gaze.

"I don't know...I guess you proved your point, ok? You've been in here before." She answered. She seemed to then be having some sort of inner conflict on whether or not suggesting to leave would be taken as an act of cowardice or not. Before she could make up her mind, Gregory spoke from a few feet away.

"Well," He said, matter of factly. "As long as we're here we should look for a picture or something. You know...to see if the guy really is Jack Skellington."

They entered into the living room. Gregory looked about it knowingly. Violet, who didn't want to sound like she was less brave then he was nodded gloomily.

"Alright. So where do we start?" She asked.

"Well…this and the basement are the only other two rooms I've been in."

"Well how about we stay away from the basement." Violet said. Her voice was shaking a little. Gregory turned and gave her a look of disbelief.

"This place really freaks you out, doesn't it?" He said. Violet's eyes narrowed and Gregory regretted his words immediately when she punched him painfully in the shoulder.

"Shut up Gregory." She said vehemently.

Gregory rubbed his shoulder and said a few choice words beneath his breath. He looked over towards the switch box by the basement door and walked towards it. Violet watched him curiously.

Gregory opened the box and looked at the many switches for a moment, trying to remember which one had turned the lights on in that room. He picked one at random and was satisfied when the over head lights blinked into existence. Violet looked around the room, a bit relieved.

"We should try upstairs." Gregory said. "I haven't been there yet.

Violet looked at the stairs and then nodded.

"You do that. I'll stay down here." She seemed to have regained her composure, and was now speaking once again, with her usual confidence.

Still, Gregory assumed she was staying downstairs to avoid being any closer to the room Hector Skellington died in. He didn't pursue this thought, however. Mostly because he was not stupid, and knew that saying anything further to her about her obvious apprehension would be a very foolish thing to do. (Not to mention, he was a little wary of going upstairs himself, for the same reason.)

"Alright." He said, finally, and started up the stairs.

* * *

Jeff had left the Garrets place in a lousy spirit. He had been in a rather good mood that morning, especially when he had easily been able to search the Garrets household (And Gregory's room.) for anything the boy might have found or had been hidden. He did this under the extremely loose eye of Anne, who had not questioned as to why he would be so interested in the contents of her abode.

He hadn't actually been expecting to find anything, but when he did come upon a photo of the towns illustrious previous owner, a photo that could not have possibly belonged to Gregory, his mood was dampened. He pocketed it, assuming that the boy would not think that it was he who did so and left the house in a fowl disposition.

He had been heading home, when he decided that before hand he should stop by the other end of town to make sure Jack had left by then. If he hadn't, he may end up having to have a talk with him about letting children get into his house and acquire certain belongings that children should not have in possession.

He was almost at the house, not paying attention at all to his surroundings when he was addressed by someone in a very falsely pleasant voice. He knew immediately who it was, and cursed himself for being so careless.

"Mr. King. Been taking interest in the Pumpkin House lately have you?" Brutus stood up from his rocking chair, half empty glass in hand. His salt and pepper hair was still quite messy and he was clad in his robe, which covered a worn out pair of slacks and an un tucked work shirt. In comparison to Brutus Stiltz, Jeff King looked quite silly. For the older man was a good head taller then him and had a lot more bulk. Not to mention, even in a bath robe, Brutus was the sort of man who gave off waves of confidence and power.

"Brutus…" Jeff said, while brandishing a sociable smile, which appeared frozen and wrong as it was lit with the crisp morning sunlight. "Your up early."

"It's 10:30 Mr. King. I could hardly call that early." Brutus' smile faded a little. "But I suppose it is a bit early to be walking across town. What sort of business could you possibly have over here?" Brutus leaned on his porch side and gave the smaller man an enquiring look.

"Well…I was just…coming to…talk to the man who owns lot 76…about…you know…the situation involving…my son…and…the Garret boy…" He cleared his throat and looked away from the older man in an awkward manner.

"I see. Well then, I'm afraid your out of luck. He just left this morning. Saw him myself, bout an hour ago." Brutus' grin widened. "Pity you had come all the way up here for nothing."

"Yes…well…" Jeff said, a little annoyed with the smugness he heard in the mans voice. "Actually…that's just fine…you see…" He seemed to think for a moment. "I think I should go up to the house anyway…you know…because the man…the man who owns it asked me to make sure that he remembered to turn everything off… and stuff…you know." Brutus watched him suspiciously as he walked slowly towards the house.

"I'll see you later Mr. Stiltz." He turned and walked at a more hurried pace towards the large domicile. Brutus watched him with narrow eyes. He gazed at the house and then back at the retreating form on Jeff, then, doing a double take, he gazed at the house again. One of the lights were on and in the window, he saw definite movement.

"Hmm. I haven't known ghosts to walk about during the day." He said to himself sarcastically. Then, after downing the rest of his tea and waiting for Jeff to disappear inside the gate he headed towards Pumpkin House in a hurried pace.

Violet and Edward were not the only ones who knew there was a back way into the house. Jack, for an instance knew that way quite well, for he had used it often as a child. Brutus was another man who knew it, and used it now, because he was quite aware of two things having to do with whoever the intruder was inside Pumpkin House. One, was that it could not possibly be any of the upstanding citizens in town, for they would not break into the house, mostly becausethey were far too scared of it to try. And two, if someone had come in from out of town, he would have easily seen them no matter which road they came down.

"Well let's see. Who in town would know enough to avoid me, use the back way, and break into Pumpkin House…I wonder. Of course I could be wrong…I wouldn't think EITHER of them would be that stupid." He said quietly to himself. He got about halfway down the fence and saw both packs sitting on the ground. He rolled his eyes.

"Wayward."

Brutus continued down the fence to the opening that the owner of Pumpkin house had never gotten around to fixing since it was mysteriously torn open. Any other day he may have chanced climbing the fence, he had, after all done activities like such several times in his younger years, due to his line of work, but today, he thought it was best to not risk pulling something, he was, after all, not as young as he used to be.

When he got into the back, he found, not to his surprise, that the back door was already unlocked.

Gregory heard the front door open first. He spun around, facing the stairs and then, not wasting time to see who had come in, ran into the nearest room on the top floor and closed the door. When he was safely behind it he waited and listened to see what would happen.

Downstairs, Violet did something of the same thing, but instead, got to a place where she could easily see the new intruder. To her horror, Jeff King walked in and gave the place a quick look around. He placed a curious key back into his pocket and addressed the silence.

"Hello, is anyone here?" The man called into the empty room. Violet snuck out from her hiding place and crept into a room where she would be better hidden. She closed the door quietly behind her and gazed at it in curiosity and distrust

"What the heck is he doing here?" She questioned softly.

I decided to update on this story at least one more time before moving onto my next. I may update again, but I really should try to write more on my KH story because it'll take me longer to write ( I have a bit less interest in it.)

To Senko: Don't worry, Jack will be back. And when he does return he'll play a larger role in the story, I just needed him gone for now.

I'm glad your enjoying the story, thank you for your reviews. I will update on all of my stories again shortly.


	18. Caught Again!

Chapter Seventeen:

Caught…again!

Gregory inched his way towards the banister. He grasped it and quietly leaned over to see who had entered the house.

Jeff was heading towards the stairs with what apparently was some sort of purpose. Gregory stepped backwards and ducked into the nearest room. He kept the door opened slightly so that he could see where Jeff was going. Mr. King reached the top of the stairs and headed down a hallway opposite of where Gregory was hiding. He didn't do it with an heir of someone who hadn't been in the house before. Gregory watched Jeff disappear into one of the doors one the far side of the hallway.

When he did, Gregory crept out of his own hiding place and started down the stairs quickly. He was on his way towards the living room when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into a nearby room.

Violet let go of the rather painful clutch she had over his arm and opened the door again slightly.

"He went upstairs." Gregory whispered, assuming that Jeff was who she was watching for.

"What is he doing here?" She asked. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the stairway.

"I don't know."

"He has a key…" She said, still not looking at him.

"Well…he does own the town." Violet gave him a dark look.

Gregory wasn't paying any attention to it. His eyes had widened. Violet gave him an odd look before he darted forward and closed the door.

"What are you doing?" Violet asked sharply.

"What the heck is he doing here?" Gregory asked while taking a step backwards. Violet raised her brow.

"I don't know, that's what I just asked you." She said, her voice brimming with annoyance.

"Not Jeff! Mr. Stiltz! I just saw him walk into the living room!"

Violet leaned towards the door and opened it slightly. Her eyes brows went up. She closed it again, softly.

"Great…" She said quietly. "You know…somehow…this is all your fault. This never happens when I'm with Edward." Gregory shot her an aggravated look before he walked to the other side of the room. Violet leaned against the door and sighed, occasionally looking out to see if either of the men were on their way out.

The room looked as though it were ancient and had not been used for a few years. There was an end table and a couple of old dusty chairs that looked as though they had once been red, but were now a cross between a light pink and orange. Gregory walked over to the end table. There was a large book on it with the words **ALBUM** written on it. Gregory started flipping through it. He paused on the first page, which he examined in fascination.

"What are you doing?" Violet asked from the other side of the room.

"Looking at the Skellington's photo album." He responded. A spark of interest flashed in Violets eyes and she crossed the room quietly. She looked over Gregory's shoulder and examined the page curiously.

There were six photos on the first two pages. Two of them were of a much younger Hector Skellington. One was of a beautiful woman with red hair and the last three had children on them.

Gregory looked up at Violet in slight confusion.

"These are…Hector's kids?" He asked.

"Well…" She answered, looking as perplexed as he did. "That's Viktor…and I guess that the girl is probably his daughter...Anna...or...something like that…and…the last one…" She examined the picture.

"He doesn't look like Hector." Gregory said quietly.

"No…but he looks kind of like her." Violet pointed down to the picture of the woman. Gregory nodded.

"We should take this." He said after some careful consideration and even then he felt a little awkward saying it.

"You think it's important?" Violet asked, obviously not in a bullying sort of mood. He shrugged and began flipping through the book to get to the end. When he got to the last few pages he stopped and looked up at her.

"Sure." He said. Violet was staring down at the pictures on the last page as though she were trying to decided whether or not they were really there.

"Holy crap…" She said softly. "He's…I mean…" She stopped and swallowed.

"I guess he's used it in the last ten years." Gregory said.

The owner of the house had obviously taken advantage of the last couple of pages, where he had placed a lot more recent photo's, which included some older pictures of Viktor, rather sickly looking pictures of a woman with long dirty blonde hair, and a few younger and more current pictures of himself. Gregory also saw a picture of an older man who looked oddly familiar but wasn't given much time to think about it because at that moment the door behind them opened. Gregory saw Violet spin around, closing the album as she did. She picked it up and hid it behind her back.

Standing in the doorway was a very angry looking Brutus Stiltz. When he took the time to examine both of them, his angry look fell a little into slight bewilderment.

"Gregory?" He asked, while raising one bushy eye brow. Gregory gave him an awkward semi smile.

"Hey…Mr. Stiltz…"

The older man seemed to regain his composer.

"You are both in a lot of trouble." He opened the door.

"Follow me." He turned around and started out the door.

Violet quickly slipped the album into Edwards tool box and then motioned for Gregory to head towards the door. Gregory followed Brutus, feeling a bit foolish about being caught twice in The Pumpkin House and feeling a little ashamed about going against what he had told Brutus he would not do.

Brutus cast a quick look towards the stairs and hurried his pace.

"Come on…" his voice was set just a little above a whisper.

Brutus opened the kitchen door when he reached it and watched both of them as they exited it. He walked out himself and closed it quietly behind him.

"Alright you two. Keep walking till you get to my house. I'll be behind you to make sure you don't run off…and if you do…I'll go right back in there and tell Jeff what you did."

Violet and Gregory shared an exasperated look and started off towards Brutus's house. On the way they both grabbed their bags. Gregory looked over his shoulder, caught Brutus' eye and quickly looked away.

When they got back onto the main street, both Violet and Gregory cast a wary look at the front door of Pumpkin House. Behind them, Brutus did the same. He caught up with them halfway down the street to his house.

"Now I don't know what you were doing in there, but giving who I'm talking to…" He cast a dark look at Violet who was trying, quite unsuccessfully to look innocent. "It was probably something unpleasant…and maybe illegal. I assume I don't have to ask who's idea it was either." Violet look slightly offended.

Brutus' eyes turned on Gregory, who met his gaze and suddenly felt very ill at ease for doing so. The expression in the mans eyes fell between suspicion and confusion. Brutus looked at Violet again, who had been making faces at him while his attention had been directed elsewhere.

"Aren't you suppose to be at school…both of you?"

Violet shrugged.

"I got kicked out." She said, without much emotion. Gregory nodded uncomfortably.

Brutus looked at Gregory with something like disappointment in his countenance.

"I'm going to have to tell your Aunt about it this time, kid. You'd better get back to school." Gregory nodded. He turned to go, but was stopped by Violet who stepped in front of him and shoved Edwards tool box in his hands.

"I'll come get it later. DON'T LOSE IT." She said quietly. Gregory nodded and headed down the street. Violet watched him for a minute before turning back towards Brutus.

"Well…" She said, while giving him a mischievous smile. "It's been fun…but…"

"Oh you aren't going anywhere yet." Brutus glared at her.

"Aww come on…what are you going to do…tell Caroline? She's probably passed out somewhere by now anyway."

"Just because I'm out of the force doesn't mean I can't have someone else throw you in juvenile hall. I know a few people who owe me a favor down there you know."

Violet narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"What do you want?" She asked bitterly.

"Where's Edward?" Brutus asked.

Violet shrugged.

"The heck should I know? Probably talking to some shrink or throwing stuff at little kids on their way to school."

"What are you doing with the new kid?" Brutus asked. He gave Violet an accusing look. She grinned at him.

"What…I can't have friends?" She said in a wretchedly sweet voice that sounded almost serpent like.

"I don't know what your planning Violet, but I'm warning you, if I catch you making that kids life any more miserable then I WILL personally see to it that YOUR life becomes more miserable. Understand?" Violet smile faded.

"Your too uptight Brutus." She sat down on his porch step and blankly watched a spider as it spun it's web.

"I'm serious Violet." He said angrily. She gave him what may have been the most honest look he'd seen on her in years and shrugged.

"Fine…whatever. Gregory's not so bad." She stood up and brushed herself off, (making sure to swipe her hand through the silk web and send the spider falling to the pavement, as she did.) and started back down his steps and towards the street. Brutus stared after her for a moment, looking slightly perplexed. By the time she was at the other end of the street his confusion turned to that of annoyance.

"Oh…she's up to something all right." He grumbled to himself. There was a sound of a door opening and closing to his right.

Jeff left the house and headed towards him. The man put on a bright and utterly phony smile.

"Yep…all locked up."

"Good to hear." Brutus said sarcastically. Jeff mustn't have noticed for he nodded brightly as he too started down the street.

"I uh…suppose that the owner of the house also asked you to um…look after a few things for him while he was gone…eh?" Brutus said loudly. Jeff turned, looking slightly worried.

"What do you mean?" He asked nervously.

"That bag, under your arm…I don't believe you had it going in." Brutus grinned knowingly at Jeff, who looked down at the bag, off to the right, as though looking for an answer, and then back at Brutus who was still smiling at him.

"Uh…yes, as a matter of fact, that's exactly it." He cleared his throat. "Have a nice day Brutus. He turned and headed off.

Brutus waved, still smiling.

"Idiot." He said through his teeth.

Once again, I apologize for it taking so long. I should be having a lot of extra free time from now on though. I still have about eight school days left, but I don't have track anymore so I have all of my afternoons and weekend free from now on. I also apologize for my horrible grammar in my last chapter (I think it was in The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise.) for those of you who read the last chapter. I knew that I hadn't added in a lot of the possession things but completely forgot about them. Hopefully this chapters a little better. (Although…not perfect I assure you.) Thank you for reading. I'll update soon!


	19. The Missing Photograph

Chapter Eighteen :

The Missing Photograph

After school ended Gregory headed reluctantly towards his house. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he was almost certain that Brutus had called his aunt and that he was going to be in a great lot of trouble when she saw him. He was about to his street when someone called his name.

Gregory groaned in aggravation and turned. Justin was stomping angrily towards him, looking quite awkward in his school uniform and with his hair slicked back. He seemed to be trying to purvey intimidation, but his over all appearance demonstrated a prissiness that did absolutely no good for his intentions.

"What do you want Justin?" Gregory asked dully.

" I've come to warn you…"

"Warn me?" Gregory cast a longing look towards the road.

"Yeah…you're the only one who knows about my cousins. I've come to warn you that if you tell anyone, you'll get an even worse beating from them then the Waywards did."

"Wouldn't that just exacerbate the problem?" Gregory asked. His voice was full of weariness.

Justin appeared to think about this, then, after a moment, his eyes narrowed.

"Just remember what I said and stay out of it."

"Whatever…" Gregory said beneath his breath. He turned and started to walk away. Justin glared after him.

"Hey! I'm serious!" Justin started to follow him. "You have to promise not to tell!" Gregory rounded on him. There was a hint of wickedness in his eyes. Justin stopped, appeared to hesitate, then took a few steps forward.

"I mean it…" He said in a low, dangerous voice.

"Why should I?" Gregory asked.

Justin looked taken aback for a moment. He seemed to think about this for a moment. His eyes darted to the ground, back up at Gregory's face, then at something in Gregory's hands. He smiled.

"Because, it would be a shame if Edward found out you stole his tool box…" He darted forward and grabbed it out of Gregory's grasp as he said it.

Gregory grabbed at Justin desperately when he realized what the boy meant to do. Justin took a step back and almost lost his footing. There was an audible click from the boxes poor lock and the ground was sprayed with several tools and a large Photo Album. Both boys stood frozen for a moment.

Gregory spotted the album and lunged for it. Justin followed his gaze, found that he was closer and scooped it up before Gregory got the chance to.

"What's this?" The boy asked.

"Give it back!" Gregory yelled as his fingers tried to close around the spine of the book. Justin leapt backwards and laughed when Gregory tripped over the stack of fallen tools. Gregory glared up at him. He opened his mouth to tell him to shut up, but the words died in his throat when he saw the look of terror on the skinny boys face.

He noticed a shadow had fallen over him and turned his head cautiously. Violet was standing behind him with her arms across her chest and a most malicious grin across her face. She still looked beaten up, but also looked quite capable of dealing a few beatings herself. Her eyes were on Justin.

Justin swallowed.

"I can get them to do it again…you'd better…you'd better leave me alone!" His voice got higher as she started to approach him. When she was three feet away, Justin tried to run away. She put her foot out and tripped him. Justin crashed to the ground. The book flew out of his hands and landed in a ditch nearby.

"I believe you've earned a bit of a beating for last night King…"

"Their still here! I can get them right now!" Justin screamed. Violet grinned.

"Really? Well, we must make sure that that doesn't happen now." She put her foot in the center of Justin's back and stepped downward, rendering him incapable of movement. Behind her Gregory was getting up and brushing himself off.

"Get his shoes Gregory."

Gregory looked up at her in confusion as though wondering if she were talking to him or not. Violet cast him an irritated look.

"Garret!"

"Sorry!" Gregory yelled back. He hurried forward and wrenched Justin's shoes off of his feet. Violet pulled his book bag off and began searching through it furiously. A look of satisfaction crossed her face as she pulled a role of tape from it's depths. Justin was making muffled remarks of fury.

Violet grabbed the collar of Justin's shirt and pulled him onto his feet. She pushed him towards a nearby bench and shoved him onto it. Gregory watched in interest as she proceeded to tape him to the bench. The whole time she did this Justin was screaming for help. (That was, of course, until Violet pulled off one of his socks and shoved it in his mouth, being sure to tape over it, of course.) She took a step back and grinned. Behind her, Gregory drew the old album out of the ditch and brushed the dirt from it's leather cover.

"Don't worry Justin…" Violet said mockingly as the boy glared up at her. "…Bound to be someone who'll come around and let you free…course…it'll have to be someone who doesn't hate you and…your dad walks by here sometimes doesn't he?" She grinned and spun around.

"Give me his shoes." Gregory handed them to her. She took them and tied the shoe laces together. She looked upwards at a telephone pole and swung the shoes around before letting them go, then stood back in satisfaction as they swung neatly around the pole and hung there in suspension.

"By the way Justin…" Violet whispered nastily, while kneeling over the bound boy. "When you see those two ugly brutish cousins of yours, tell them I want my hat back. Come on Gregory." Violet started to head back to the road. Gregory seemed to snap out of a daze and followed her at a hurried pace.

"Give me the album." Violet said the minute he caught up with her. Gregory handed it over. "You should be ashamed Gregory." She said to him with a hint of venom in her voice.

"What? Why?" He answered.

"You have to stupid thing for a few hours and then nearly lose it to Justin King, that's why. The kid weighs what…forty pounds?"

Gregory opened his mouth to tell her that he most certainly had to weigh more then forty pounds, then, thought better of it and closed his mouth again. He needed to remember who he was talking to. Just because she wasn't beating him up now, didn't mean she wasn't perfectly capable of remedying that. He settled for asking her a question.

"So what are you going to do with that album anyway?"

Violet shrugged a little angrily.

"It was your idea to take it! I thought you knew what you were doing." She said in an accusing tone.

"Well, were sure the guy who lives there is a Skellington right?" He asked, trying to sort his own jumbled thoughts out while he spoke.

"I'm not sure of anything. If one of Viktor's kids is still alive, I don't get why the town went to that idiot Jeff King."

Gregory shrugged.

"Maybe he didn't want the town."

"Maybe he's not Jack Skellington."

Gregory stopped.

"But you said he looked just like him. And he does bear a strong resemblance to Hector and Viktor and he still has the album and has added his own pictures to it….don't you think…" Violet put her hand up.

"Shut up Gregory. I was there, remember?" She sighed and opened up the album, flipping through the pages till she came to the three pictures of Hectors kids.

"Suppose he died too?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Who?"

"This ugly red headed kid." Gregory leaned forward and looked at the picture of Beside that of Viktor's.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a mistake…maybe he's…their cousin or something."

Violet was shaking her head.

"He looks too much like Hectors wife to be a cousin." Gregory nodded, he saw the resemblance too.

Violet shook her head and stuffed the album into a worn bag she had been carrying with her earlier that day.

"I guess I can always check it out."

"How?" Gregory asked curiously.

"I don't know…look it up on one of those high tech person finder things, via satellite or something."

Gregory narrowed his eyes.

"You don't have access to that sort of thing." He said.

"Sure I do. Edward downloaded some stuff from Brutus once when he caught us trying to knock his mailbox over and was busy calling Caroline."

"Brutus?"

"Yeah…he used to be some kind of special cop of something or other." Gregory raised his brow.

"Oh…so he…he must have been good at his job…" Gregory said absently, while thinking about the two times he had been in Pumpkin House.

"I don't know about that…never caught us messing with his equipment…rather lousy cop if you ask me…had to be pretty high up to have access to that sort of thing too." She shook her head as though ashamed, which Gregory found extremely ironic.

"Anyway. I can look Skellington up on that."

By then they were nearly to Gregory's house. Violet looked up and noticed that she had already gone past the street to her own. She sighed.

She was about to say something but was interrupted before she got a chance to speak.

"Gregory!" He looked up, startled. His aunt was looking at him angrily, in her arms, Apathy wore a similar look. Gregory cursed his aunt for having found her…he wouldn't have minded a non Apathy life. He rather hated the cat.

Anne cast a dark look to Violet.

"You run along now girly. Don't think I don't remember you. Gregory doesn't need your negative influences!" Gregory scowled and wished, as he had several times before then, that his mother would have had another sister.

Violet looked at the woman oddly and whispered something under her breath that Gregory did not hear, but imagined was quite nasty before nodding to Gregory and heading off to her own house.

Anne walked forward and grabbed Gregory by the arm.

"I got a call from your teacher today. She said you were not in class for the morning."

"Yes well, you see I er…"

"Well…where were you?"

"I um…just…got held up a bit in the morning…that's all." He lied quietly.

"Held up?Gregory that is no way for a promising young boy to behave."

Gregory ignored this.

"You…uh…only got a call from my teacher?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes…" Anne looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"No reason." Gregory said hurriedly.

Anne seemed to consider this then nodded.

"You will be punished for this, Gregory…be sure of that. Up to your room now. I don't expect you down for the rest of the night." Gregory nodded, just eager to get away. Mentally he cursed his teacher…but still, Brutus hadn't told! Not yet anyway, until then, all he could be accused of was skipping out on a bit of his morning classes.

"Oh, by the way Gregory." Anne said from behind him. He turned.

"Mr. King has invited us over to his house for dinner tomorrow afternoon."

"What?" Gregory asked, a little shocked.

"He thinks it'd be good for the two of you boys. He seems to think you two are really getting along."

Gregory thought of Justin, taped to the bench on the way from school and smiled a little in amusement.

"Yeah…uh…should be fun." He said innocently before turning and walking up to his room.

When he closed the door behind him, he sighed in relief. Why had Jeff invited them to dinner? He felt a little wary of this. The man had seen that him and Justin obviously didn't get along…and he thought Jeff hated him.

"Wonder what he's up to." Gregory whispered to himself. But then, why should he be up to anything? Gregory's eyes fell on an disturbingly empty space on his desk. He frowned.

"That's odd…"

Finally! Well, tomorrows my last day of school (Hurray!) Then I'll have plenty of time to update these stories. (Although it would be rather nice to have a life this summer as well.) I seriously need to finish them…it's been a long time since I started. Oh well. Updates soon! Thank you for your reviews!


	20. Remembering Nightmares

Chapter Nineteen

Remembering Nightmares

_"Friends, we are here today to mourn for the death of Hector Skellington." The man in black said softly. He had a Bible open in front of him. Beyond it, stared the blank, confused and mourning faces of the town. _

_A man in the back was standing at the back of the crowd with his eyes closed. He appeared to have been brought out of his semi trance when someone tugged on his sleeve. The man looked down at the pale and grief stricken face of Hectors grandson. _

"_Mr. Stiltz, I can't find my dad." Brutus looked up from the boys face and scanned the crowd for what should have been the obvious build of Viktor Skellington. _

"_Where'd you last see him, Jack?" Brutus asked. _

"_He was right beside me at Grandpa's coffin." Jack swallowed, seeming to push back what emotion came up with his words. _

"_Alright, well I'll…" _

"_I'll take care of it…" Brutus turned to the sound of the voice. Beside him, a man with bright red hair placed a hand on Jacks shoulder. "Good evening Brutus." _

_Brutus smiled in a way which was not amused. _

"_I don't see anything good about this evening. I didn't expect to see you here Alexander." Alex smiled a little sadly. _

"_Why Brutus, he was my brother after all." _

"_Your brother?" Brutus turned towards the coffin and was shocked to find that Viktor's body had taken the place of Hectors. _

"_Yes. Come on Jack, let's pay our respects and get some rest." Alex started to pull the boy away. _

"_Wait, I…I want to stay with Brutus." Jack said softly. He gave Brutus a long, desperate look that the man did not like. Brutus looked up at Alex suspiciously. _

"_That's fine with me." He said shortly. Alex shook his head. _

"_Well that's very kind of you Brutus, but his mother asked specifically if I would take him for the night and then drive him back to her as soon as possible. She has fallen ill you know." _

_Brutus looked down at Jack who was looking at the ground. _

"_Jack?" _

"_It's alright Mr. Stiltz. I'll go with my uncle. See you tomorrow." Alex nodded goodbye and they walked towards the casket. Brutus watched them for a while. Someone put a hand on his shoulder and made him jump. _

"_ I hate that man." Brutus looked sideways at Garretty Wayward who was watching Alex with something like reproach. _

"_Yeah, he isn't anything like his father." Brutus said softly. _

"_Alexander Skellington isn't anything like anyone I've ever met. If he gets this town I am going to move." Brutus shook his head. _

_"I think Jack's up next for ownership." _

_Garretty nodded. _

_Brutuswatched as mourners paid their final respects. As he did things began to grow dark. People's faces got hazy, until there was nothing but reflections in the darkness. _

Brutus awoke on October 22nd with a pounding headache and an awful sensation of vertigo. He remembered his dream from the night before, which bothered him slightly, because as far as he could remember, the last time he had recalled any dreams from the previous evening, it had been directly after a funeral. Who's it had been, he had temporarily forgotten.

Brutus swung his legs over the bed and slipped his bare feet into the pair of slippers he left at the foot of his bed. He stood and walked out to the kitchen. As he did, his dream flitted through his mind. He opened a cabinet and put his hand on the tea mix he kept in there while looking sideways at the time.

It was 4:00 A.M. Brutus sighed. Too early to sit outside with a cup of iced tea. He pushed the packets aside and reached to the back where he kept the coffee grounds. He didn't think he'd be getting back to sleep. He pulled the can of coffee out and set it on the counter. For a moment after he peeled off the lid he stared at the grounds as though he weren't actually seeing them. He mentally shook himself out of his day dream and began the process of making a nice cup of strong black coffee.

He sat down at his kitchen table and waited while the pot heated up and filled with the stuff. From the table he could see his screen door and the blackness beyond it, lit up only with tiny illumination of the street light outside.

_See you tomorrow. _

Brutus shivered as the room seemed to fill with the hollow and haunting voice of Jack Skellington. He hadn't seen him the next morning. In fact...he hadn't seen him for weeks after the boy had made that statement. And when he did...

Beside him he heard as the last of the coffee trickled into the pot and then stopped. He stood and pulled amug out of the cabinet over head and poured himself a cup of coffee. He started to take a drink, feeling that he almost needed it now when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He put the cup down and looked outside the door. The street light had gone out. He cursed to himself.

"I just changed the blasted thing last week!" He said beneath his breath as he yanked open his hallway closet door and fished through it for a new light bulb. When he finally found one he unlocked his screen door and walked out into the darkness. He cursed all the way to the light, only stopping when his hand touched the glass and was horribly cut. He pulled it back and looked at the blood.

The streetlight had been smashed in. Brutus stepped back and looked around him hurriedly. When he was sure there was no one around he headed back to his house, feeling a little uneasy. He reached for the door and then pulled his hand back. It was open. He never left his screen door open. Even if he had been able to see it the whole time. He took a step back from the door and walked slowly to a wooden chair in the corner of his porch. He pulled a board loose underneath and reached into it, not taking his eyes off of the door.

One of the many reasons people said Brutus Stiltz was crazy was because of his tendency to be a bit paranoid. What other people didn't understand that once you had a job like he had had for so long you found out that any precautions you took, no matter how intense they may be, were absolutely necessary. Sometimes it was good to be prepared for things that didn't happen very often. Brutus pulled a rifle from underneath the wood and took the safety off. He pushed back his screen door and walked cautiously into his house.

"Anyone here?" He asked loudly. He heard an odd sound from the other roomand hurried through his kitchen towards the direction from which it came. He stopped in the doorway of his old office and stepped inside. The window was open and the computer was running... The window, which he was sure had been shut earlier that evening sent the shutters up in bursts from the cold October air.

The computer appeared to be running a missing person search. Brutus walked to it and reached towards the mouse to cancel it. He stopped as the results popped up. Brutus read a few lines and decided that he would need his coffee in order to read on.

Gregory woke up at Six o' clock in the morning aware that he was very hungry and that he didn't need to be up for a while because he did not have school that day. He was annoyed to find that he could not get back to sleep. He got out of bed and sat down at his desk.

He sighed and scanned it again, looking through his drawers and in the various papers scattered about the wooden surface just to make sure that it really was not there. It didn't look as though it was. He scowled. If Jeff had been in his room then he might have taken it.

"What would he have wanted with a stupid photograph though…" Gregory whispered to himself. Mr. King hadn't even been around long enough to know the people in the photograph, so why would he have taken it? Gregory shook his head and began to get dressed. He had a long day ahead of him, a day which would end with what he assumed was going to be a most unpleasant dinner with a family that Gregory suspected was clinically insane.

There came a small knock on Gregory's window, bringing him out of his thoughts. He stood up and looked in that direction. Another stone hit the glass. He crossed the room and opened the window cautiously, peering down into the early morning gloom. Violet threw another stone for good measure that hit him in the face.

"Hey!" Gregory growled down at her.

"Jeez, what took you so long!"

Gregory frowned.

"It's six o' clock in the morning! What the heck do you mean what took me so long!" He whispered back at her furiously.

"Six o' clocks a great time, no ones up. Get ready and meet me at your front door in three minutes."

"It's six o' clock in the morning!"

She had already turned the corner around his house. He sighed and pulled on a pair of socks, then tiptoed down the hallway, being sure to grab his coat, which was hanging on a wrack outside his door. His aunt was a pretty heavy sleeper (And he honestly didn't think she could have woken up to any sound outside of that of her own snoring anyhow.) But he didn't really want to be caught doing something wrong again.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs he relaxed. He undid the bolt on their door and opened it up.

"What do you want?" He asked Violet, who was sitting on the front step and looking at him impatiently.

"Were going to see Brutus." She said before standing and grabbing his arm, then proceeding to drag him down the street in said direction.

I was thinking of perhaps trying to finish this story before going back to my others. I've had this one longer and it would be really nice to be able to focus on one at a time so that I have the feel of the story while I'm writing it. Thank you very much for your reviews (And your patience!) I'll have another update soon.


	21. A Trip To Brutus's

Chapter Twenty:

A Trip To Brutus's

On the way to Brutus' house both children were silent. Violet led the way, plunging through the darkness with her usual confidence while Gregory stayed a few steps behind her, wondering why she had gotten him out of bed at 6:00 in the morning to hurry over to Brutus'

By the time they got there it was almost seven o' clock. Brutus' lights were on and the screen door was slightly ajar. Gregory took in the scene with a great deal of wariness. Even Violet paused for a moment and stared at the house with something like dread, before regaining her composure and stepping up to the front door and ringing the bell. (Although, giving the circumstances, it hardly seemed necessary.) There was some fumbling from farther back in the small house before Brutus's large frame silhouetted in the doorway.

He pulled the screen door back all the way and stared at Violet for a moment before seeming to wake up fully. His eyes narrowed.

"What the heck do you want Violet?"

"To talk to you about something."

"Were you in my house a couple hours ago?" Brutus looked at Gregory briefly before his gaze focused back on the older girl.

"No." Violet said shortly.

Brutus stared at her for a moment, deciding whether or not he should believe her.

"This is important Brutus and I don't have all day." Violet said icily. Brutus stood up to his full height and shook his head.

"I don't have time to play your games Violet. Go get into trouble somewhere else. I'm busy with something. and I'm sick of looking the other way with you and your brother." He grabbed the door and started to close it.

"Jack's still alive." Violet said quickly before he could get it closed all the way. Brutus paused and then the gap in the door widened again.

"What?"

"Jack…he's still alive."

"That's impossible." Brutus said. Gregory noticed that his face held a certain amount of uncertainty despite the fierceness in his words.

"It's true." Violet pulled out a picture. Gregory looked sideways at it. It was one from the back of the album. She handed it to Brutus who grasped it and looked at it with something like hope and terror. He held it for a moment, his jaw dropping slightly.

"It…it can't be. They said he was dead…years ago."

"There's something else." Violet was already holding out another picture. "I want to know who this guy is and if he's still alive."

Brutus took the other picture from her, without taking his eyes off of the one of Jack. Finally, after he managed to tear his eyes off of the first one, he looked down at the one in his hands. He looked up at Violet darkly.

"Are you sure you weren't the one in my house earlier."

"I already said I wasn't." Violet snapped at him.

"Why?" Gregory asked quietly from beside her.

"Someone broke into my house earlier and got onto my computer. This here," He rose the picture of the young red headed boy at the two children with something like contempt in his eyes. "This is Alexander Skellington. He was Hectors youngest son."

"How come my dad never talked about him?" Violet asked while taking the photograph back from Brutus.

"Well…he wasn't much like his siblings…or anyone else in town…for that matter. He left as soon as he turned eighteen. A lot of people thought he was always sort of broken up about his mother and sister's death. The last time I saw him was at his brothers funeral. He had to drop Jack off and take him back home because Jack's mother was ill. Didn't see him again after that…either of them actually…" The shadows on Brutus's face seemed to grow.

"Everyone's assumed that they were dead...but apparently...well now there's this..." He held up the picture of Jack. "And...my computer...well..." Brutus frowned

"Come on in and I'll show you."

* * *

Edward woke up suddenly from a very odd dream that he couldn't seem to remember. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking at a clock on his bedroom wall (That incidentally had looked as though it had been through hell…and had picked up a few things along the way.) It was seven o' clock. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. In onesense it was way too early to be getting up, but Edward was aware that there were two times during the day that were great for maximum mayhem. These were early mornings and late nights.

He pulled on a pair of shoes and crept down the hallway to Violets room smiling wickedly to himself. He loved it when he was given the opportunity to wake her up. He could think of so many ways to do it that would absolutely make his day. When he got there he opened her door slightly and peeked in. He was disappointed. She wasn't in her bed.

Out of habit he turned around swiftly to make sure she wasn't behind him. All he got for the effort was a view of the empty hallway. He shrugged. Maybe she was in the tree house. Violet slept in the tree house a lot. Edward didn't really understand it, especially on cold nights…he had once taunted her by saying accusing her of doing it because of fear and that sleeping up there was the equivalent of going to mom and dads room in the midst of a thunder storm…but had instantly regretted it…and hadn't raised the subject with her much after that.

He stepped outside the back door of their house and walked quietly to the tree house. The ladder they used to climb up hung pale against the dusk. He grasped the worn rope and began to climb the tree house. A more observant and emotional person might have been captivated by the beautiful sunrise and the excellent crispness of the October air. They may have been filled with joy as they climbed up into the comfort of a tree house built by someone who cared about them and excited at what the rest of day might bring. But as it were…all Edward was thinking about was scaring the crap out of his sister and having her in a choke hold before she had a chance to react…he couldn't have cared less about all of that other stuff.

He stepped up into the wooden interior of the club house and was immediately puzzled at the lack of residence in it.

"Where is she?" He asked the emptiness of the obstruction. He sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. Violet almost never got up this early…and she wouldn't have gone out to do mischief without him…would she?

She had been acting very strange lately. The last couple of days she had spent a good deal of time in their fathers study. The evening before he had caught her in there with a very old book he had never seen before. He had tried to wrestle it away from her to make her angry but had instead received a nasty bruise on his arm and a busted lip. The lip had come from her, the bruise on his arm had come from falling off of the desk after the shock of actually getting punched in the face by her.

He rubbed his arm at the memory and sat back in the chair. He supposed he would just have to wait for her. If she wasn't back in the next hour or so…he would probably get up and look for her. It wouldn't be hard, he knew all of the places in town as well as she did. By the time the sun was all the way up…Edward was already fast asleep the chair.

"I don't get it…" Violet said bitterly. "If this guys obviously alive…why didn't he just get the town when Jack was presumed dead…I mean…the files are right here." She was staring at the computer screen.

"Well...as far as I know...they didn't ever actually find Alex, but if this says he's still alive then he must still be alive. You would think the people searching for him would try to find an explanation for it." He frowned in distaste.

"I mean, I would assume that whoever was in charge of taking care of who the town went to would have thoroughly looked up all surviving relatives before selling it to someone who wasn't related." He said the last bit with a frown. Violet and Gregory exchanged a similar look.

"Man I hate that guy." Violet and Brutus said almost in unison.

"So why didn't they?" Gregory, who had been fairly silent up to that moment, asked quietly.

"I don't know. It doesn't make since. Unless Alexander just didn't want the town."

"Or…" Gregory said slowly…working the idea that had just sprung up in his head through it thoroughly. "Someone else didn't want him to have it."

Brutus raised his brow.

"If you mean Jeff…nothing he could have possibly done could have…" Brutus started. Gregory interrupted by shaking his head.

"No…I mean Hector. Didn't he have a Will?"

Brutus's eyes lit up.

"That would have done it. That's the only way that makes since. But no ones seen his Will for years. It disappeared with all of the original information that belonged to Pumpkin Town and a large map of the neighborhoods and lots."

Gregory's eyebrows scrunched up for a moment. Violet frowned at this…it made him look a bit like Edward when he was trying to think about something.

"This map…er…was it really big."

Brutus nodded, giving Gregory a look of interest.

"Didn't have too many lot numbers…names instead…and the town printed at the top."

"Yeah…you've seen it?" Brutus said, his eyebrows up.

"Yes…I think I have."

Well, we're definitely getting to the end of this story now. Hahaha! Then I'll get back to my other stories and finish them. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I will update soon. Once again I am grateful for your reviews.


	22. A Change In The Air

Chapter Twenty-One:

A Change In The Air,

As Halloween Draws Near.

"Jack…" The voice seemed to come from far away. "Jack, wake up." He felt someone touch his shoulder and shake him lightly.

As the young man came out of his slumber, the sound around him seemed to intensify. He opened his dark eyes and sat up. The figure beside him recoiled a little at the suddenness of his actions.

Jack yawned and raised his hands to his face to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Alice." He said shortly, while turning his head slightly to look at the young woman who had been calling to him in his sleep. She wiped a bit of her shoulder length black hair out of her face and crossed her arms.

"How does someone fall asleep while their painting a Halloween decoration?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Jack gave her an embarrassed smile and side looked a mirror in the corner to make sure he didn't accidentally get paint on his face while he was sleeping.

"I…haven't been getting much sleep lately…" He said before standing up and covering the ghoul he had been painting. Alice nodded. She was familiar with Jack's unpredictable bouts of insomnia.

"I'm here for the car." She said, watching him in an amused fashion as he tried to straighten up his unruly hair.

"I figured.' He said. "It's out front." He grabbed his jacket and led her out of the room, making sure to check for his car keys first.

Alice cast him brief looks down the hall, wishing, lightly that that at some point he would turn and meet her gaze. Jack was an attractive man, despite his almost foreboding countenance. This being the dark lines under his eyes caused by his odd sleeping habits, his untidy black hair which fell messily down his forehead and neck, and his almost unhealthily pale complexion. This frightening façade was only made worse by his obsession with Halloween. Still, Jack was beautiful in his own way. He had a nice smile, he was very elegant and charming, and he was one of the kindest men Alice had ever met.

This is why it dismayed her that the man hardly noticed her at all. Yes, they were friends and yes, he was very kind to her, but it seemed that when his mind was not on work, it was either on his home town, or in some cold and mysterious place that seemed to haunt him in his wake and sleep.

"There it is." Jack said brightly. Alice snapped out of her thoughts and smiled as she gazed at Jack's car.

"Morbid and lovely as ever." She said brightly. "Wonderful. The Truck is at the other side of the building. The tarp is in the back, try to bring it back with gas in it this time, please." Jack grinned at her as they exchanged keys.

"I will." He said.

"Are you leaving this morning?" She asked curiously. Jack shook his head sadly.

"I can't. Not until tomorrow evening. I haven't gone over my plans with the Director yet." She nodded.

"How is that going?" She asked curiously.

"Well enough…I suppose….his idea's aren't…" Jack seemed to be fumbling for the right words.

"Quite to your own capacity." Alice added helpfully. Jack smiled.

"Well…I was going to say that they weren't good…but I suppose that that is a bit kinder." He shrugged. Alice shook her head.

"No one's ideas are to your capacity, Jack. Your creations are…" She paused and bit her lip.

"Too detailed?" Jack asked. Alice grinned in amusement.

"Well…I was going to say horrifying…but…yes…we'll go with too detailed." Jack returned her smile and for a moment her heart leapt up to her throat. In the darkness he was like some sort of beautiful master of the night. As mysterious and frightening as he was lovely.

"Well, I believe in doing it right. If you are going to make a horror film, you might as well have the right sort of decoration for it." Jack said, breaking eye contact with her and looking off into the distance as though he knew some sort of deep secret that no one else knew.

"Well," Jack said, making Alice jump slightly. "I should probably get back to work. I have a few designs to finish and I must decide what all I'm taking back for Halloween. I will let you go." He said. He gave her faint smile. Inside, she wished that she did not have to go. On the surface, however, she returned his smile and shoved his key into the car door.

"Very well. In that case, I will see you on November 1st." She opened the car door and lowered herself in. "I know it's early…but Happy Halloween, Jack." She said softly. His smile widened and he nodded.

"And to you I wish the same." He said. He waved as she started up the car and slowly inched out of the parking lot. When his car was out of view he spun on his heel and headed back towards the dark building. It was October 22nd and the sun was just coming over the horizon.

Gregory was hurrying back home. If his aunt caught him out of the house at this time (or any time after the events from the day before.) she would kill him. Violet had just headed back to her own house after going over the plan with him one last time.

That night he was going over to Jeff's for dinner (Violet had laughed at him and then had said if it was her going, she would have hanged herself by now. He ignored her.) When he had been there before with Justin (Coughing from Violet. He ignored that too.) he had seen the large map displayed in the hallway. He remembered because he had looked at it rather fixedly for a good five minutes. That night, when he went over to the Kings house, he would slip away from the table (For whatever reason.) and look around the rest of the upstairs for Hectors Will. Violet, who would be waiting in the Kings backyard at around 7:00, would meet him at a window. He would give her the Will, she would take it back to her house, then, the next day, they would both meet back at Brutus'.

Gregory nodded to himself as he reached his house. It was about 8:00. He hoped that Anne was not up yet. Gregory shut the front door quietly and tip toed into the kitchen, where he sat down with a sigh of relief.

"Gregory!" He jumped at the sound of his aunts voice behind him.

"I didn't do nothing!" he said quickly. Anne frowned.

"That's not proper grammar Gregory. I was just going to say that I'm glad you're up early, but I suppose with no dinner last night, you would be. I'll fix you something before you go to school." Gregory nodded, as some of the color ran back into his face. Apathy tried to scratch at him from under the table. He frowned and kicked at her before she could. She recoiled from him and let out a long hiss.

On his way to school that morning Gregory felt a little different. He couldn't decide how…but something had changed, something that was affecting the whole town. Instead of feeling his usual sense of forebode he felt oddly at ease. The cold October sunlight lit up his face and a cool breeze ruffle through his hair. Gregory grinned.

When he was much younger, Gregory had always enjoyed Halloween. He had always been fond of the autumn weather and the pleasant grayness of the October sky. And he had been captivated by the mystery of the dark Holiday. Then he got a little older and was turned off by the utter foolishness of it. He got sick of the stupid costumes he had to wear every year (His mother had been a stern woman when it came to certain things and would not tolerate her boy dressing up as some flesh eating zombie, or wearing a mask that oozed fake blood.) So he'd dressed as a cow…or a large pumpkin…or some stupid type of clown.

He had thought the holiday was dumb because once he got old enough to participate in the foolishness, he had found that there was no true mystery to it. It was just a bunch of dumb kids in masks.

But this place was somehow different. He felt a shiver go down his spine that was entirely unrelated to the chill in the air. This was the kind of place that did not just hide a face behind a mask…but changed it too. And he was enjoying it! Him! Gregory Garr…no…Gregory Barrel was actually taking pleasure in the horribly twisted feeling that hung in Kingston…in Pumpkin Towns air! He took a deep breath and let his grin widen. For the first time in all the time he had been there…He liked it that he was a resident of Pumpkin Town.

Marion was standing in the schoolyard. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gregory approach and sighed bitterly. His mom had told him to apologize to Gregory for being so rude the other day. He tossed a quick look around to make sure no one was watching. It wasn't that Gregory was that dorky of a kid or anything; it was just that, he really didn't want to get on the wrong side of either of the Wayward kids.

He turned towards the boy with an awkward smile on his face.

"Listen Greg-" He stopped short at the sight of him. The smile fell from his face. Gregory had a grin on his face that might have had the power to make the Waywards take a few steps back and reconsider their actions. Gregory's grin faded a little when he saw him.

"Huh?" He asked, while re positioning his backpack.

"I…er…was just going to say…that…I was sorry." Gregory gave him an odd look.

"Why?" He asked as a bit of breeze ruffled through his hair.

"Um…because…I was rude…and…well…my mom…she…" He stammered off. Gregory raised his brow. Marion swallowed and looked sideways only to find that much of the schoolyard had cleared out. He was struck by sudden uneasiness.

"I mean…yeah…well…sorry." He finished lamely. Gregory frowned.

"Fine…whatever. Get out of my way so that I can get to class." Marion moved quickly. Gregory passed by with one look backwards. What had that been all about? He had had a look of absolute terror on his face. That was something Gregory was not accustom to. He shook his head and mounted the stairs into the school building.

Marion shivered as a cold October wind blew past. He heard a crashing sound that made him jump. He turned quickly to see what it had been, only to find the King School sign had been ripped out of the ground by the harsh blustery weather. Marion whimpered and hurried inside.

Violet climbed the rope ladder of her and Edward's tree house wearily. She decided to sleep a few hours out there until Edward woke up and came to find her. He was used to that sort of behavior and therefore would not ask any questions.

She was startled when she opened the wooden door and found him asleep in one of the chairs. She swallowed and started to retreat back out of the room. The floor gave a large groan and Edward's eyes flickered and then opened up. When he saw her, he sat up quickly.

"Shock…there you are…where have you been?" He noted the look on her face and the fact that she was wearing her jacket and was dressed in her regular daytime clothes. His eyes narrowed. "Where'd you go?" He asked suspiciously.

"Just…to Brutus's" Violet said carefully.

"Why?" Edwards asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"Just…to knock over his mailbox." She lied. Edward looked at her doubtfully.

"At six o' clock in the morning?"

"Yeah…why not?" Violet pretended to find interest in something on the wall. Edward wasn't buying it.

"You've been acting…really strange lately, Shock" Violet glared at him.

"Have not." She said darkly.

"Yeah…yea you have. You've been really quiet and you haven't wanted to play tricks on anyone lately. Your not yourself."

"Shut up Lock!" She said angrily.

"Make me! Say what you want. It doesn't change the face that you've been acting like some freaky zombie lately." A look of horror crossed over his face.

"Your not…scared of those kids are you?" He asked carefully. Violet looked at him oddly.

"Who?"

"Justin and his cousins…you're not afraid of them are you?" Violet raised her brow. For a moment she looked as though she were considering something. Then, her face cleared.

"No! I haven't thought about that since it happened." This was the truth. Her mind had been far too occupied to think of anything as menial as Justin King.

"It's just that you haven't wanted to dump on him lately." Edward said. Violet glared at him.

"For your information, I just taped him to a park bench yesterday."

"Really?" Edward asked, a bit of relief ebbing into his voice.

"Yea." She said.

"Oh…great. What about Gregory? Have you gotten him lately?" For a moment the confident look fell from Violets face.

"I…um…uh…no…not lately." She stammered weakly.

"Oh…" Edward looked at her oddly. She was fiddling with her sleeve. This was a nervous action he was not used to.

"Why not?" He asked uncomfortably.

"Uh…well…I just…haven't had the opportunity." She said with a nod.

"Ok…" He said. He grinned maliciously. "Well, how about if we get him today then?" He asked brightly. Violet stared out of one of the windows. This action disturbed Edward.

"Shock?" She swallowed.

"No…" She said finally. "I think not."

Yay! I realize that I really should be working on Special Keys For Special Doors instead of Pumpkin Town, but I can't help it. I really want to finish this story. And I am getting SOOO close! Sigh. Thank you for your reviews! Updates soon!

To Megan W: I assume that since you called me by my nickname in one of your reviews that you have been to my web page. I tried to describe human Jack a little better in this chapter, but if your interested in seeing what he looks like (In my own imagination, anyway) as a human, I'll post a picture I drew earlier this year on the page. It's not wonderful,  but it'll give you some idea of how he's supposed to look. I haven't, unfortunately drawn any Zero pictures. I'm not good with animals. Also, I thank you for your super long reviews  I enjoy reading them.


	23. Dinner At The King's

Chapter Twenty-Two

Dinner at the King's

Dawn sat bitterly on the couch, occasionally sipping at a fowl smelling liquid and trying to ignore the thunderous noise erupting around her.

A few feet away from her, Justin was screaming at the top of his lungs. This outbreak of rage was aimed towards his father, who was standing in the doorway with a very set expression on his face. Dawn looked away from the glass and cast her eyes towards Jeff, wondering how he could stand it to just situate himself in the doorway like some stone statue and let his son continue to act like some bitter four year old who cannot have their way.

Finally the man shifted. His look of assurance faded to that of anger. It contorted his features in a way that forced Dawn to turn back towards the window. She shivered.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" The man yelled. Justin jumped, obviously taken aback by his father actions. "Shut up! I told you they are coming! You will live with it!"

"But dad he was the one who…"

"I don't care! Shut up and go to your room! Get ready for dinner. You WILL be on your best behavior tonight or you will spend the next two months sleeping in the basement!" He rubbed his thin hand across his balding scalp and turned to leave the room.

Dawn watched him go, biting her lip as she did. Justin looked at her in anger.

"You can't let him talk to me like that!" The boy said, while giving her a look that severely undermined her authority.

"You heard your father Justin…" She said, her voice sounding slightly inebriated. Justin glared at her and stomped out of the room.

"Demented little brat." She said softly. She swallowed and leaned against the wall. How did it ever get this bad? She was beginning to fear that she hated her husband and son. Her son? How? How could she hate her own son?

"Not my son…" She said softly. "His son…" Her eyes became expressionless for a moment. She gazed at a half empty glass, then, with a frightening expression printed across her face, she stood and went into the kitchen. She dumped the glass into the sink and started a pot of coffee. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the phone hanging on the wall.

Dawn touched her chest, vaguely aware that her heart was racing and her adrenaline had begun to speed up. Her stomach tied into knots.

'I can't.' She thought. 'I promised I wouldn't.' She cast her eyes away from the phone. Staring fixedly at the coffee pot as it filled with the sweet black liquid.

'Then again…" Her mind argued as the last of the coffee drizzled into the pot. 'Some promises are meant to be broken.' She bit her lip, and feeling as though she were in some sort of dream, reached out and picked up the receiver.

"Till death do us part darling." She said softly and let out a harsh laugh that was cold and humorless. The phone number jumped up to the front of her mind. If it had had a mental image to go along with it…it would have been covered in dust. She dialed the number and waited.

"Hello, Gloomy Studios, can I help you?" A busy voice answered. There was an array of sound in the background.

"Yes…can I speak to Jack Skellington, please?" She asked softly, nearly choking on the words.

"Uh…he is currently in a meeting. Can this wait?" The voice said on the other line.

"No…it's waited long enough." Dawn answered. She was unaware of the figure in the doorway behind her.

"Alright…I'll get him…Hold on one-" The line went dead. Dawn's lips parted in frustrated horror.

"Dawn…what are you doing?" His voice was set just above a whisper. Dawn turned and backed up against the wall as her husband approached her. A chord dangled from his fingers. Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm tired of this!" She screamed at him as he approached her slowly. "You can't keep doing this!" Her voice grew shriller the nearer he got. "I…I won't keep my mouth closed any longer." She said, her voice lowering to a whisper.

"We shall see about that." Jeff said. He threw the chord down onto the floor and grabbed her roughly by the jaw.

"You know what I'm capable of, Donna! You should have never gone into my study…but you did! And now you know! And you WILL keep your mouth shut!" He released her jaw and slapped her across the face.

Dawn starred at the floor in shock.

'So…' She thought to herself. 'We've become this sort of couple.'

Jeff turned on his heel and headed for the door. Dawn rubbed her cheek and rose to her full height. She stared at his back in growing hatred.

"No." She whispered after him. "I won't" He paused in the entryway and looked at her over his shoulder.

"Have you seen the lake lately, darling. It's beautiful at this time of year." His voice had a low and dangerous quality to it. He cleared his throat and left her alone in the dark kitchen.

As soon as he was gone she burst into tears.

"I wish it had been you instead of him…" She whispered into the silence.

* * *

Edward glared bitterly at Violets back as she worked at the computer in silence. He picked up a pocket knife and started to play with it absently, occasionally stabbing insects (Or anything he could find to stab…he wasn't picky.) that had unfortunately crawled his way.

"Is this about dad? Is that why your acting so funny?" He said, finally breaking a silence that had lasted a good twenty minutes. "Or about school…because I could have sworn you were over that."

"Shut up Lock, I'm trying to concentrate." She said with an edge of annoyance in her voice. He had been asking her occasional questions since that morning and it was really started to get on her nerves.

"Work on what?" Edward asked in frustration. He stood up. "You've been on that thing all day and I can see any reason why!"

"I'm trying to find someone on your stupid program, so either shut up or go away Edward!" She yelled back at him. He grumbled under his breath and descended the ladder. When he reached the ground he kicked the side of the tree in frustration.

* * *

In his room Gregory was gathering up the last of what he intended to bring to the Kings house that evening. He adjusted his collar which was extremely uncomfortable and after a quick glance towards the mirror, cursed his aunt below his breath. The outfit was bad enough WITHOUT the stupid bow tie she had instructed him to wear. He thought about having to face Violet afterwards and shivered. He yanked the bow tie off and threw it on his bed, then proceeded to find something else to wear. His aunt would have to live with it…he had begun to rather like not getting beat up and preferred for it to stay that way.

"Gregory! Come on! We can't keep these people waiting!" His aunt called from the bottom of the stairs. Gregory tucked a few things in his pocket and headed towards the stairs. His aunt watched him descend the stairs with a look of surprise and distaste written across her face.

"Greg…what happened to the nice little outfit I picked out for you?" She said. Her eyes had a scolding touch to them.

"Something happened to it." He said absently as he headed towards the door.

"What happened? That was a new outfit."

"I threw it out the window." Gregory said below his breath.

"What?"

"It ripped on something, come on…I thought you didn't want to be late."

"Oh…but now you look so…I mean…this is the owner of the whole town, Greg. We need to look nice."

"Why?" He asked while raising his brow. His aunt looked at her watch and sighed.

"Well…at least let me do something with your hair."

Five minutes later they were headed to the King's house. Gregory touched his greased back hair in revulsion. Oh well…it was still better then the bow tie.

The King House towered above them as they pulled into the driveway. Anne was staring up at it like she was the luckiest woman in the world. It was quite a bit larger then any of the other houses on that street.

"Isn't it the most impressive house you've ever seen?" Anne asked him excitedly.

"Not really." Gregory said, his voice sounding bored. He was thinking about the Pumpkin House.

"Come on." Anne said, ignoring him. Gregory got out of the car and followed his aunt to the front door drearily. As she knocked Gregory checked his pockets to make sure he had everything.

A moment later Jeff answered the door, smiling warmly.

"Good evening, come in please." He moved out of the way of the door to let them in. Gregory happened to catch his eye and noticed that his smile became strange when it was directed toward him. He looked away and decided that he would try not to look at Mr. King for the rest of the evening. There was something chilling about the man tonight.

Anne, who did not seem to notice a thing, returned his smile with twice the capacity.

"It was so kind of you to invite us, Mr. King."

"Please." Jeff said as he closed the front door. Gregory noticed that he looked up the street before doing it as though expecting to see someone else. "Call me Jeff, Miss Garret." Anne looked absolutely pleased with herself as she entered the dining room behind Jeff.

Justin was sitting at the table when they entered. Him and Gregory caught each others eye. They were both glaring. Jeff walked over to where his son was sitting and nudged him. The boy shot a dangerous look towards his father before standing up angrily and crossing over to where Gregory was standing.

"Hi Gregory. It's nice to see you again." He said through his teeth venomously. He held his hand out. Gregory raised his brow.

"Be polite Greg." Anne said sweetly.

"Wish I could say the same…OW!" Anne had smacked him across the back of his head. "I mean…yeah…you too." He took his hand to shake. Anyone who watched them could tell that they were just trying to squeeze the life out of each others hands. After a moment, Justin backed down, having absolutely no strength in his hands or arms whatsoever.

Anne smiled at Jeff in embarrassment, who was pretending to not have noticed, much to her relief.

"Um…where is your wife…wont she be joining us this evening?" Anne asked. Jeff seemed to grow uncomfortable.

"Uh…well…she's a bit tired…so…no…she wont, but I'm sure she would have liked to." Gregory remembered the woman who he had met the other day. He couldn't say that he was sorry that she wasn't there…she, like the rest of them had seemed like an awful woman…but he couldn't help but notice that Jeff almost seemed pleased that she could not join them. He was trying to impress Anne…Gregory could tell…and that meant that it would be unwise to have a woman who obviously did not like him much (Despite having married him.) around badmouthing him and making him sound like a complete fool.

"Oh…a pity…do tell her I said hello." Although…she didn't sound very sorry, Jeff nodded warmly and looked completely appreciative of her false sympathy. Gregory wondered if he couldn't find something heavy to hit himself over the head with to make all of the false courtesy stop. He sighed and decided to think about how he would go about getting away from all of them long enough to find the stuff he needed to, instead.

"Well…you guys pick a seat and I'll get dinner, shall I?" The man said brightly. He exited the room, and headed for the kitchen.

Gregory tried to pick a seat that was preferably far away from both Jeff and his son, but before he could sit down Anne stopped him.

"Greg…why don't you sit by your little friend." Her voice suggested that it was not a matter for discussion. He sighed bitterly and sat beside Justin, who did not look pleased with the arrangement either.

Jeff re entered the room a moment later with several dishes. He looked as though he would drop them at any moment. Anne seemed to see this and hurriedly stood up to help him.

Before long they were all engaged in a very uncomfortable silence. Gregory kept glancing at the door. At one point he felt eyes on him and he happened to catch Jeff's eye for the second time that evening. The man was giving him a very odd look. He pretended to be very interested with something on his plate.

"So…tell me…have you enjoyed my town so far?" Gregory heard Jeff ask. He looked up and saw that the question was directed towards him.

"Uh…yeah…it's alright." He said awkwardly. He looked away again, this time into the corner.

"Well, I think it's wonderful! We were a little hesitant about moving at first…but I thought it was important for Greg to have a change of scenery…after his parents passed and all…and this place is just terrific…" Anne's voice droned into the background of Gregory's consciousness. He stared fixedly at a picture on the wall behind Mr. King. It was obviously a family picture from several years back, probably from when the King family first moved into town. There was something off about it.

In the picture Jeff stood with his wife, who was holding their son (Who was much younger.) It was obvious that stress and age had stricken the man rather brutally in the last five years, for in the picture he had a full head of hair. The photo was black and white…which meant that it was probably done professionally.

Gregory cast the present Mr. King a quick look before going back to the picture. Him and his whole family were blonde…as far as Gregory could tell…but in the photograph, completely absent of color…there was something wrong with the image...but he couldn't figure out what it was.

He was just about to ask the location of the restroom, so that he might get away from the table when Jeff intervened before he could ask.

"Gregory, Justin told me that you were quite interested in my map of the town upstairs." Gregory blinked in surprise.

"Uh…"

"If that's true then if your finished you should find something I have in the other room extremely interesting." The man grinned at him.

Gregory looked around as though confused. It came to him immediately that Jeff had been planning this. Warning lights flashed off in his head.

"You see, I happen to have some of the original plans from when certain areas of this neighborhood were built." He looked at Gregory expectedly, who glared back at him.

"Oh…that sounds nice…I'd like to see that." Anne said brightly. Jeff's smile froze, but when he turned it towards Anne it was just as charming as ever.

"I wouldn't dream of pulling you away from dinner before your finished. I will show you after." He stood and motioned for Gregory to follow him. Anne had gone back to eating, but did stop long enough to shoot Gregory a very strict look, which told him that he had better follow him. Gregory stood up and headed towards where Jeff was holding open the kitchen door.

As they walked down the hall, neither of them spoke. They stopped when they got to the living room where Gregory had waited for Justin on the day which he first ventured into The Pumpkin House. Jeff motioned for him to sit. He did so cautiously.

The man crossed over to a drawer in the corner and he pulled out a few scrolls of paper. With them, he removed a photograph.

"Here they are." Jeff said brightly. He handed them to Gregory who looked at them with little interest. Jeff was still holding the photograph. And here it came.

"And…although I'm sure you've had to have heard from…someone in town…these men were responsible for…half of the town as you see it today." He handed over the photograph. Gregory stared at it. If he was surprised, it did not show on his face. He looked up at Jeff whose gaze was falling on him heavily.

"That's nice…" Gregory said in a voice that suggested that he couldn't care less but was trying to be polite. He handed the photo back to Jeff, who was looking at him angrily. Having not gotten the reaction he would have liked. "Who are they?" Gregory asked apathetically. Jeff gave him a very dangerous look before answering.

"I think you know who they are…and I'm sure if you think really hard it will come back to you." Jeff said through his teeth. Gregory shrugged.

"I dunno. The guyin the middle looks kind of like that weird looking guy that's in the picture up at the Town Hall."

Jeff's face contorted into something terrible and for a moment Gregory was sure he was going to lose it. He didn't take his eyes away from the man, much to his immense displeasure. Any doubts he had of the man's sanity had all but vanished. He was insane, that was for sure. Finally, Jeff's face cleared.

"Very well." Jeff took the plans from Gregory and put them and the photograph back in the drawer. Before he did, Gregory caught another glimpse of the photo and realized, with some surprise that it was the same one that, a mere day or two before, had been sitting on his desk. He could tell by the writing on the back.

"You should probably get back to the table and finish your dinner." Jeff said icily.

Gregory made sure that they were both in the dining room amongst the company of his aunt when he turned back towards Jeff.

"Um…may I use your restroom real quick?" Jeff glared at him, and for a moment, looked on the verge of refusing it to him…but he happened to remember that he had company and nodded bitterly.

"Upstairs, third door on the left. You might want to hurry…before what's left of your dinner gets cold." There was admonition in his eyes. Gregory thanked him quietly and walked quietly out of the room. When he got out of their sight he darted quickly up the stairs. He had to move quick before anyone noticed that he had been gone for far too long. He pulled a small tool that Violet had loaned him from his pocket and began looking for a locked door.

This chapter gave me some trouble, I hope it turned out alright. Anyways…I thought I would update one last time before going on vacation. I'm heading off to Michigan tomorrow morning. I'll only be gone for four or five days…but yeah don't expect any updates until after. Thank you for your reviews! They inspire me to write!

Also if anyone's interested, I have posted a picture of what Jack looks like as a human on my website (As well as a couple others from other fics.) And if not…well…that's alright…they suck anyway.

Updates soon!


	24. Words Carved In The Floor

Chapter Twenty-Three:

The Words Carved In The Floor

Gregory walked down the hallway quietly. When he reached the end, he cast a quick look to the right and eyed Justin's bedroom door. He stopped as the hallway ended and gazed in front of him at a large map hanging on the wall a few feet away. He swallowed and touched the edge of the map gingerly. Then, with one nervous look over his shoulder, he began to peel the map off of the wall.

It wasn't till after the huge map was in his hand that he realized he had been holding his breath during the time he had been working it off of the wallpaper. Quickly, he folded up the large map, then began the tiring task of walking back down the hall and testing all of the doorknobs to see if the doors were locked or not.

As he did this an unsettling thought came to him and he could not help but wonder which room Mrs. King was currently occupying. He frowned and hoped that he would not find her before he found the door he desired to enter.

After he tried several doors he finally came upon one that was locked. Violet had said that a locked door was a good place to start. He didn't have much time, so he hoped that this room would turn out to be the right one.

He removed the tiny silver tool from his pocket and began to work on the lock. After a few minutes, in which he wondered if he could even do it or not, he heard an audible click and let out a sigh of relief. If someone found had him in the hallway trying to pick a lock, there were few things he could say to get him out of trouble. He stepped into the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

For a few seconds, he just stared at what he had found. The room was small. The only window was on the far side. It was half covered with books and several stacks of paper, and therefore only let in a little of the failing sunlight. There was a desk on the wall beside him and a few file cabinets, other then that, the room was flooded in paper.

Gregory sighed and began going through the room and picking up random sheets of dissertation and reading a few lines on them before tossing them back on the desk, or the floor where he had found them. After a few minutes of this he frowned and looked towards the clock. He had already been gone from the table for ten minutes. Pretty soon, someone would look for him.

He began to search a little more frantically. He grabbed some documents from an old Victorian style chair, but after a couple seconds he realized that they were old bills and he threw them over his shoulder. There were a few official looking letters on the desk, but they turned out to be information about Justin's Prep School.

Finally, when he began to see papers that he had already looked through, he moved to the file cabinets. When he pulled the first one open he had been excited for a moment when it seemed to contain information on Pumpkin Town. This thought had quickly been discouraged when he began pulling out documents and finding only things that an owner of the town would have. He found plot diagrams and information on costs, basic information of the people who lived there, like there address and when they moved in. He shut the cabinet door bitterly and fell back in Jeff's chair.

After a moment he looked back at the clock then began to sweep over the room with his eyes. It seemed, to him that there were few places that he had not checked. He sat back in the chair.

"Great…" After a few minutes of complete silence he thought he heard movement from downstairs. He was sure it was just his imagination…but it brought him back in a state of panic none the less. He sat up and began scanning the room desperately.

"Let's see…where would I hide important information if I was a paranoid loser who's hair was falling out." He rose his brow. "Probably in a safe or something, but…" He frowned and stood up. On the other side of the room was a large picture of Jeff. Gregory crossed over to it. He scowled and swung the picture upward. There was a tiny safe behind it.

"Normal people put pictures of their father or relatives in front of safes." He said bitterly. "How am I suppose to get into this stupid thing?"

Much to Gregory's luck...which appeared to come at the right time for once, he didn't need to get into the safe. This came about when he spotted an odd carving under the small safe. It too had been hidden by the large picture. It appeared to be an arrow pointing downward.

Gregory's eyes fell to the floor beneath the photo. He crouched down and brushed a stack of papers off of a floorboard that looked as though it had seen better days. It stuck up unnaturally and the nail holding it down appeared to be bent and sticking out of it half way. Without thinking about it Gregory wedged his fingers into the crack between that floorboard and one of the others and pulled. It came up easily enough.

Unfortunately, there were no papers inside. There was, however a tiny silver charm, that appeared to Gregory to be some sort of medal or something. He pulled it out and examined it.

This honor is presented to

Viktor Skellington

Gregory had just begun to wonder why Jeff had Viktor's medal under his floor when he saw the bit of writing that had been cared underneath where the tiny charm had been.

'Under his desk.'

Gregory stared at the crude writing, possibly carved by someone's blunt fingernail. He cast a curious look behind him at Jeff's desk.

Hereplaced the board and walked slowly over in that direction. He pushed away the chair, sending torrents of dust drifting about the area. Then, crouching, he inspected underneath. It didn't look like there was anything there. He touched the boards. As his hand slipped over one, it rocked a little. Without hesitation he pulled it free and reached in. His hand touched parchment. He pulled several papers from the dark depths and examined them. On the top of the first folder, in large letters was the print; **Skellington. H. **

That was when he heard the voices, sounding as though they were right outside the door.

"I'm sure he's up here somewhere."

"Well we need to get going!" Gregory's eyes widened as his Aunt's and Mr. King's voices drifted into the room. He tucked the papers away quickly and stood up, slamming the wooden board back into the opening as he did. He pushed in the chair and hurried across the room to replace the painting. Outside, the voices stopped at the door.

"What about in here?" He heard his aunt saying.

"Oh no!" Mr. King said, sounding as though Anne had been on the verge of opening the door. "Nothing is in there. Besides, I always keep it locked."

Gregory tiptoed over to the door and turned the lock. Then, he put his ear to the wood. He sighed in relief as the voices headed down the hall. When they disappeared he turned the lock again and slowly twisted the knob. The door opened a crack. He peered out of it and saw, to his immense respite, that the hall was empty. He left the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

He took a few steps away before he heard the voices again. Gregory made a quick decision and hurried down the stairs. When he got down to the bottom, he darted towards the dining room, only slowing when he reached it. He almost entered it when he realized he still had the large folded map in his hands. In a state of panic, he bended it in half and grabbed his heavier jacket from the coat hanger, tucking it within the fabric. He then pushed the door open and stepped in. Justin looked up at him and narrowed his eyes.

"You've been gone for an awfully long time…you better not have gone anywhere near my room!" The boy said venomously. Gregory rolled his eyes as he sat back down, adjusting the paperwork so that it wouldn't stick out anywhere.

"Trust me, I have no desire to ever go anywhere near your room again."

Justin eyed Gregory's coat oddly and then grinned at the boy.

"In a hurry to leave I see." Gregory folded his coat tighter around the map.

"Yeah…I didn't want to come here in the first place. You make me lose my appetite."

"Funny…by the looks of you, I wouldn't think ANYTHING could make you lose _your_ appetite." Justin said. He grinned wickedly. Gregory was, by now, barely paying attention to him. He could hear his aunt and Jeff approaching and he was trying to develop a believable story to tell them.

"Well…" He said, not looking at the small boy. "At least I didn't have to get my daddy to un stick me from a bench." Justin's response came laced with hatred.

"At least I have a father." Gregory tore his eyes off the door and gave the boy an icy look.

"All you have is your idiot aunt. And I can at least hire people to be my friends." He laughed a little. "If you think Violet Wayward is your friend then your even dumber then you look."

The door opened and Justin looked down at his plate as though he had been examining his dessert the entire time. Gregory looked back at the doorway, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Greg, there you are. Where have you been?" His aunt said with a stern look in her eyes.

"Uh…I got lost. This house is much bigger then ours." He looked away. He had planned a much longer excuse…but he had forgotten most of it and what he remembered he didn't really feel like saying.

"Well, come on. We need to get home. You have school tomorrow after all." Gregory nodded and stood up. He waited in silence as his aunt thanked Jeff and then followed her out the door. He didn't meet Jeff's gaze at all, but felt the mans suspicious gaze burning on his back as he walked down to the car.

That night he went to bed without a word to his aunt.

He gazed at the ceiling with his arms folded underneath his head. He had put the papers and the map on his desk. Him and Violet had agreed that he would sneak out as soon as his aunt fell asleep and meet her with the papers between both of their houses, so that she could hide them more thoroughly. He looked at the time. It was nearing on midnight. He turned over and realized he had made a decision without thinking about it.

He'd give them to her sometime the next day…then he'd be done with the whole thing. For a little while…it had felt as though he were actually a part of the town. He had even started thinking of it as Pumpkin Town. But, as so many people had hinted (or in the Waywards case…had been perfectly blunt about.) him and his aunt did not belong there.

And as much of an idiot as he was, Justin was right. Violet needed him now, because he was doing a lot of the complicated stuff that she couldn't do herself. But when Jeff realized that his papers were gone and everything blew up in their faces…and it most certainly would eventually…she would probably do what Justin had done and leave him behind to take all of the wrap for it.

He scowled. It was sort of funny…he had spent his whole life in situations like this and yet, for a couple days, he had almost completely forgotten who he was.

"It must be this town. Ha." He whispered sarcastically. After a few minutes he drifted off to sleep and for the first time since he had moved in, he had a dream. In the morning he would forget all about it…but morning is like a well placed veil, and the dream would most certainly come back to him in the night again and again, when the veil was removed and the darkness flooded ones senses like a river, laced with unknown horrors.

_It was considerably shorter then the first one. Gregory acknowledged this even as he dreamed it. _

_In the night vision, he was once again by the lake. He was sitting by the water with his back to Pumpkin House. The water was dark, and a foggy mist drifted off the top. The illusion was perfect, as though it were taken right out of a horror film. _

"_But it is…isn't it…" Gregory said in his sleep. "It's a trick…he's doing all of this." _

_The dream seemed to last for a long time…but it was exceedingly simple. Gregory watched as the water broke repeatedly and people stepped out. Every time one of them left the water they would walk through the water towards the land and would pass Gregory without any acknowledgment. Sometimes a car broke through the water, carrying several people. It was always the same one…and Gregory had a feeling the people inside were always the same too._

_The waves lit up with yellowish light. Gregory turned and stared at Pumpkin house as the light in the attic turned off and on again and again, flashing the corpses with cold yellowish luminosity. _

_Off and on off and on off and on…_

……………………..

-- tired….

Ok…well…there we go, a new chapter. Hehe…if you haven't figured it out, I'm back from Michigan. I got back on Sunday, and I've spent most of the time on my website . I'll try to get to The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise next…but I may have to focus on something Non TNBC for the next day or so. I've kept those people waiting for a bit too long I think.

Actually, one of the reasons I updated this story, is I need the readers opinion on something. Ok…right now I have two diff endings in mind for this story. I'm giving you three choices. I'd like a response before I continue on this fic…because I honestly am not sure what to do. (Trust me…it doesn't ruin any surprises I have in mind at all.)

Ok here they are.

One: Unhappy Ending-In this one Jack, at least, most certainly dies.

Two: Happy Ending- Well…Jack doesn't die….and maybe something awful happens to Jeff…hehe…yea. O.o

Three: We'll all just be surprised and see what happens! (This includes me…)

If Jack doesn't die in this fic, I'll probably either write a short fic in the future, where he does…or a long fic where he dies at the beginning and the rest is like…his experiences before he becomes the Pumpkin King. (This depends on what ideas come to me.)

Please review and pick one. I'll make a decision based on your response.

Thank you for your comments! Updates soon!


	25. The Missing Skellingtons

Chapter Twenty-Four:

The Missing Skellingtons

Violet was standing outside of the school yard, her eyes alight with dull anger. Her and Gregory had had a previous engagement at midnight the night before. There, in between their houses, she had waited for him for nearly an hour before she was sure he wasn't coming. She decided that he'd better either have a REALLY good excuse for not coming, or that she was going to show him the error of his ways.

Finally, almost fifteen minutes after the school bell rang. (Just as she was beginning to think about turning around and heading home.) she spotted the smaller boy approaching. His eyes, which had been directed towards the ground, met hers. He didn't seem at all surprised to see her.

"I figured you'd probably be here." He said absently as he reached her. She tightened her jaw.

"Where the hell were you last night!" She questioned icily. "I was waiting for nearly an hour!" Gregory shrugged.

"I didn't feel like coming." He said simply as he un shouldered his pack and began removing articles from within it.

Violet was staring at him in a mixture of shock and anger.

"Here." He said, as he removed the large, folded map and a handful of papers and thrust them into Violet's hands. She took them numbly, looking down at them only after her fingers closed over them.

"What is this?" She asked, inquiringly…her anger ebbing off slightly and giving into her curiosity.

"The map of town and a handful of papers I found under Jeff's desk." He said dully as he handed her the silver tool she had loaned him from her brothers kit.

"You got them!" She said, surprised. She looked up at him, her eyes betraying a hint of awe. He didn't notice.

"Yeah. Now I'm done." He said as stepped around her and headed into the school yard.

"Done? What…what do you mean?" She asked, staring after him. He turned.

"I'm done with this whole thing: Done with King, this town, you and your brother, Brutus…everything. I'm done. You have what you wanted, now I'll ask you to please leave me alone."

For a moment she looked stunned by his words. Then, a more familiar look crossed her features.

"YOUR done?" She asked, her voice soaking in venom.

"Yeah. That's what I said." He responded, looking unruffled.

She approached him and for a moment, his defiance fell a little.

"You…YOU got ME into this!" She said, pointing a finger at him. "This was YOUR idea. You were the one who told me about Pumpkin House and it's owner, and the one who blackmailed me to get information out of me, and it was your idea to get that stupid map! Your not leaving me alone to work this out with Brutus! Your going to see it to the end…or I'm going to fill your pathetic life with misery for all ETERNITY!"

Gregory watched her and as he did, he felt what anger and bravery he had acquired from the night before vanish. Violet Wayward was a monstrous girl with a very cruel sense of humor…but she was right…it HAD been his idea, and although knowing this made no difference in his decision, it did make him see that it was hardly right to act as though this whole thing fell on her blame.

He sighed.

"Look…what I meant to say is…this is your town…and Brutus's town. It isn't my town. I may have discovered this…but…I don't what to be involved with something that doesn't concern me…" _And I've been me long enough to know that my only purpose in your plans is to put me in all of the danger and, if were caught, use me to disperse all of the blame. _He added, only in thought. "I've been all but hit on the head with a sign saying that I'm an outsider since I moved in…so…there's all you need…good luck I guess." He turned and headed into the school building, not bothering to look back.

Violet stood in silence for a few moments before looking at the stuff in her hands a second time. She had all she needed. The map was here…and, although she couldn't see everything, she knew the documents were of great importance. She could take them to Brutus…or…simply keep them and find her own, far more entertaining way of using them. She didn't NEED Gregory anymore. She didn't need him…but without him…this was just another mischievous action that although, would most certainly upset Jeff…would not help in the memory of her father or in the preservation of the memory of Pumpkin Town in the least….this was a fact that would not change at all, even if she asked her brother to help. (Or bullied him into helping, anyways.)

She sighed and folded the papers into a side pocket before heading off towards home. It was almost kind of funny…she had really begun to think of Gregory as something of a friend.

After almost twenty years in the police force, Brutus Stiltz had been reduced to awaiting the progress of two young children. This upset him a little. The town already thought he was out of his mind. What would they think if they knew he was actually HELPING one of the Wayward brats and a kid who had moved in only a few short weeks before. Still…the town was not doing a thing…sometimes you had to rely on the mad side of things in order to achieve the things you felt strongly about.

While he waited, Brutus had begun, for no reason at all, to look at a bunch of old photographs he had tucked away in the attic several years before. He was currently going through box number six, and his third cup of coffee, when he came upon the picture had been looking for subconsciously that entire time.

It was a picture of a young man who was far too thin and much too tall for his age. But more so, it was a picture of a boy with the eyes of someone who has seen a world that many men have the luck of never having to see. Brutus ran his finger over the photograph. He couldn't still be alive…could he? Brutus began to think…what finally came to him was a memory. The memory of the last time he had ever seen jack Skellington

_'Jack! I didn't realize you were even still in town! I was almost sure you would head back for your mothers funeral.' For at that time, she had indeed been dead. It was tragic, jack losing both of his parents like that. _

_He remembered…the eyes, staring into his, bearing such grief and sorrow…too much for a boy of his age. Jack hadn't answered, he had only looked at him. Then, after a few moments in which Brutus had become very disturbed, Jack spoke in the tones of someone who knew that the shadows in the corners had ears and that they were going to whisper all of his secrets on winds that would reach his enemies if he spoke too loudly. _

"_I hear them talking in the night, Mr. Stiltz. I know they dream of doing me harm. They dislike me strongly, you know." _

_And with that, Brutus had watched in utter surprise as the boy had begun to cry. Not the hot temperamental tears of the young, but the silent tears of those who barely know their crying. He had never remembered a time when Jack had cried. He always took his sorrows like his father and grandfather. He would grow depressed, but never seem to have the tears to cry in public. _

"_I have no one…Mr. Stiltz. I only have him…and he hates me." He stood then, absently wiping his eyes. Brutus, who had kneeled in order to talk to him, straightened…and longed for the expertise on how to treat a child in distress. He had always treated Jack as he had treated his father…and that was as an equal, and in return, Jack had always treated him as such as well. Yet now, he was calling him MR. Stiltz instead of Brutus and was suffering an unfortunate yet rare distress of youth. _

"_I am leaving tomorrow, I think. I'm not coming back." He said, bringing Brutus out of his thoughts._

"_Leaving? But Jack…your now the rightful owner of the town." Jack turned and gave the man a sad smile. _

"_I'm afraid not." He said and walked off without another word. Brutus thought that perhaps in his strange change of character Jack had spoken the untrue words of children who claim to run away. The next day, Brutus would go to his uncles house, just to make sure he was there…and maybe in the time between…he would think of something to say to the boy. Or more appropriately, he would have a word with Alex. Jack seemed to be acting almost as though the past few weeks had deterred his young mind a little. _

_As it turned out…Jack kept his word. His uncle Alex informed Brutus that Jack had left early to see his mother's grave…since he had missed the funeral. Alex had told Brutus that he had had some unfinished matter back in town and that he would return behind Jack in order to keep an eye on him. _

_Brutus never saw Jack or Alex again. After a few months Brutus and the residents of Pumpkin Town were not the only ones questioning the young mans absence. Many law men had begun to search for the boy and his uncle to sort out the matter of Pumpkin Town's owner ship._

_They never found them either. _

_After hearing Brutus speak of his and Alex's last conversation, they had questioned the church that had buried the boys mother. In return they found no information of either Jack or his uncle ever setting foot in the graveyard._

_Finally, they located what was considered Alexander's current residence. There…they finally found the information they required. But by then, it had turned ill. The boy, they said, had been sick from the moment he arrived. His uncle, who had been away for almost a month, set up a room in the house for him. A room he never left. They said that Alex constantly spoke of his health in silent tones. The boy was delirious, they said. He was depressed, they said. He wouldn't eat or sleep, they said. He was horribly ill, he hadn't any strength, he was wishing himself into fatality…Everyone though the whole thing was very sad._

_The only time they ever saw Alex's nephew was at night…when he would sometimes pace his room. _

_Finally…after many foreboding months, his uncle spoke sadly of how the boy had passed in the darkness. No one had actually seen any sign of the boy's body being taken away but nearly all of the town had said that they remembered the hearse parked in the street in front of the Skellington house like a stain. The oddest thing ever seen on Summer Street. And in the days sunny brilliance, it seemed so wrong. The Hearse had driven off and things had gone back to normal…_

_For a little while anyways._

_Indeed, when the law men had found the town, they hadn't found either Jack OR Alex. Jack, as they heard, was dead, but where was his uncle? From each neighbor they received a similar response. They shook their head, looking as though slightly baffled and then would say._

'_Don't know…one day they were living there…the next they weren't. Just up and left in the night…for sale sign in the yard…never said a word about anything.' _

_To this day The last living Skellingtons had not been located. It was a mystery as strange as all of the others regarding that family. _

_Three months later, after Pumpkin Town had mourned for the loss of their young owner, the town went up for sale and was bought by a young business man, who, for nearly five years never set foot in Pumpkin Town. And that…was the end of the story…_

_Until now it seemed._

Brutus stared at Jack's picture.

"Now things don't add up. They never did…pity it took me ten years to realize it. I'm sorry Jack. Personally I hope those kids are right…I hope you are alive…I feel as though I owe you." He tucked the picture in his pocket sadly and stood. He needed another cup of coffee. Perhaps teaming up with Violet and Gregory would NOT mend the town…or bring Jack back…for even with the picture they had showed him…he could hardly believe it, but…maybe it would help to heal the wounds that licked at his soul.

It was October 23rd.

The radio was quiet and full of static as Jack drove silently down a street filled with autumn leaves and the unsettling feel of emptiness. He could see the back of the truck bulking upward under the tarp out of his rear view window. This brought a faint and sorrowful smile to his face. Halloween was near yet again…and he was sneaking into Kingston through the back way with a truck full of Halloween decorations and a new costume to wear to the Halloween celebration so that no one would recognize him.

_Perhaps this will be the year when the tradition comes to an end. _

He shook the thought from his head. Surely that day would come…but he hoped that it would not be soon. He liked Pumpkin Town. As long as he was there he would make sure that at least Pumpkin House would be suitable for the holiday. A lot of things had come to an end with his grandfathers passing. THIS thing would not be one of them. He would make sure that on October 31st…the people of Kingston still remembered who they really were…deep down in the shadows of their hearts.

He turned on his windshield wipers as it began to rain, and turned down a road that would eventually take him to the Kingston Town limit…which, conveniently rested at the back yard of his own house.

I felt like updating on this story…I just sat down…like…two hours ago and started writing. It's been a while, I know…but I have been working on finishing The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise and starting some other stories. My plan was to come back to this one after I finished The Law Of Your Anarchic Demise…but I felt like coming back to it tonight. So here it is. Please tell me if I have gotten off track.

On another note…go buy Oogie's Revenge if it's available to you! The characters are pleasantly IC and it's a really nice game : ) I find the scenery and set up to be absolutely beautiful and it's AWSOME venturing into parts of Halloween Town beyond those shown in the movie. (Like the residential area…I always wondered where all of those dead people lived )

Ne ways. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for your patients. I will try to come back to this story as soon as I can. (I haven't forgotten it! I WILL FINISH!)


	26. The Last Will And Testament

Chapter Twenty-Five:

The Last Will And Testament

Dawn staggered down the stairs, her eyes dark with a weariness of life. She directed them into the living room and let them fall on her son, who was slipping on his loafers. She stepped into the room and stared at him with eyes wild with a sort of sorrowful madness.

"Go to school, Justin." She said in a croaky voice.

The boy looked up at his mother. He took a moment to be disgusted by her strewn appearance, then is brow furled and he stood.

"Can't you see that's what I am already doing, mother." He said nastily.

"Well do it faster." She shot back, her voice suggesting that she would not take kindly to any disobedience. Justin's face colored a little but he kept his mouth shut. There was something about his mother this morning that suggested that she should be locked up somewhere and shielded from anyone who might be at risk of falling under her wild gaze.

Justin snatched up his bag and headed towards the front door. He reached the knob just in time to hear a blood-curdling yell from his father's study. Behind him, his mother had barely moved, her eyes were set just above his head at the front door.

Jeff, who had seemingly just arisen ran to the head of the stairs and stared wildly at his wife and son. His wife, who was turned away from him, began to smile. His son however faced him with a look of terror in his stricken façade.

"Someone's been in my study." He said angrily. "Everything…the map on the wall…who took it!"

Justin, who was not inclined to answer his father when he was in such a state, quietly recalled the night before. After that idiot, Gregory and his beastly aunt had gone he had made his way to bed. He had noticed the map was gone, since it was just down the hall from his own room…but he hadn't thought anything of it. Jeff often took the map down to examine it for his own peculiar reasons.

Dawn had begun to laugh in a humorless and unhappy way. Out of instinct, Justin backed away from her a little, giving her a startled look. Jeff looked livid.

"Why the hell are you laughing Donna? If you are behind this then I demand…"

"Oh, shut up Jeff." She said, cutting him off. "It was that stupid boy you insisted having over last night. I heard him in there while I was trying to sleep." She turned to her husband and gave him a hateful look.

"You're so hung up on this place. I don't know why you don't just give it up! The people hate you here; your family has no respect for you, and you've become completely paranoid. It was a little boy Jeff, just a stupid little boy playing a stupid little prank."

Jeff's face had turned bright red with fury.

"Their out to get me! Don't you understand that? This whole town! That…idiot Jack! And you…my own wife has begun to fall in league with them!"

Dawn's false humor fell from her face.

"Listen to yourself. You sound like you've lost your mind!"

"You called him!" Jeff yelled while pointing his finger at her in an accusing manner.

"Because I hate this place!" She screamed back. "I hate it! I hate these people! I hate you!" She had screamed herself into an angry bout of tears. Behind her, Justin cowered towards the door, opening it with a shaking hand.

He managed out of the house and shut the door against the currents of his parents rising anger.

"Nut jobs." He said, shaking his head. Anyone else might have questioned at the conversation the two had been having (Or…argument, I suppose is a better word.) but Justin, who could have cared for little else then getting to a school where he could boss people around let it go, and hoped that he wouldn't set foot in the house that eve to find his parents were still standing around. They had really begun to act crazy since they moved into this town.

* * *

Violet was silently reading through the various documents that Gregory had given her. So far the only interesting thing she had come upon was the list of previous owners, which, mostly, she had already known and those she hadn't were of little importance.

She sighed as she skipped a few official looking documents that she didn't have the patience for and then stopped when she saw one large piece of aged folder with a vibrant seal across the front. The seal was shaped almost like a casket with various symbols on it. There was lettering underneath in bold and elegant print.

**Shady Grove**

**Funeral Home and Legal**

**Services.**

H. Skellington

Violet stared at the piece of parchment in awe. Quickly, she thumbed open the folder and pulled out the contents…which turned out to be a single sheet of russet stained paper. Her eyes moved quickly over the page.

_I, Hector Skellington, a resident of 1313 Hemlock Grove and owner of Pumpkin Town, being of sound mind and disposing mind of memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament. _

Violet swallowed, her throat feeling quite dry. Inwardly she had begun to laugh. What she could do with this! Jeff had had this the whole time…had even pronounced that the government had lost it. She could get him so good with this! Her mind filled with glorious thoughts of banning their fool of a leader eternally from Pumpkin Town.

She giggled viciously. Behind her, Edward emerged unnoticed and watched her with his brow raised. She wasn't aware of him and therefore, kept reading.

_Therefore revoking and making null and void any and all other last wills and testaments and/ or disregarding other last wills and testaments heretofore made by me. All references herein to this Will shall be construed, as referring to this Will and Testament only. _

_I was married to Susannah Gravely. I was married to her for many happy years until her departure. The names of my children are as followed. I am writing this will to state whom shall inherit my town and fortunes. _

_My children are as follows:_

_Viktor Skellington_

_Alexander Skellington_

_Annastasia Skellington _

_I shall not distribute my inheritance to all three…or look to all three as heirs. For what reasons I have, they shall not be questioned. _

_The following off spring shall be in line for my inheritance: This includes Pumpkin Town, all of my riches and assets, and all of the paperwork included within the vault of Sanctuary Bank in Morning City. _

_Viktor Skellington, my eldest son._

_Jack Skellington, my loving grandson_

_If for whatever reason neither of them is able to acquire the town, I will ask, as a last request that it be sold to the highest buyer. I will also ask that the highest buyer must NOT be a member of my family in any way. I will ask this with the faith that those who read it will honor a dying mans wishes. _

Hector Skellington

"Why would he hide this?" Violet questioned herself in the silence of what she thought was an empty tree house. "He's technically following the law…aside from the part of ACTUALLY hiding the legal document and lying about it…he isn't doing anything wrong."

"Do you enjoy talking to yourself…because I can leave you alone if your having an important conversation." Violet jumped and spun around on the seat. Her brother was staring at her oddly.

"Ergh! Edward, don't sneak up on me like that!" She yelled angrily as she absentmindedly threw an eraser at him that had been lying on the desk beside him. It bounced off his chest and landed at his feet. He gave it a weary look and shook his head at her.

"Weak." Violet rolled her eyes and spun back around.

"Go away, Edward. I'm busy doing stuff that takes intelligence right now." Edward tightened his jaw, then, before she could prevent it, snatched the papers from her hands.

"Oh yeah? And what's that? Coloring pictures? Drawing weak little girly drawings? You-" He stopped short when he got a good look at the paper in his hands.

"You…what is this?" He said, the mocking quality in his voice completely falling as he stared at the documents peculiarly.

Violet grabbed them from him.

"It's stuff about Pumpkin Town and YOU could have ripped it with your stupid hands, you idiot!"

"Pumpkin Town? Really? Where'd you get it?" He asked, ignoring the comment about his stupid hands.

"Jeff's house." Violet said bitterly and with hardly any hesitation. _Well, actually, Gregory got them from Jeff's house. I sat around at home and did nothing, if you must know. _Didn't sound like a good statement to make.

"Really?" Edward asked. "You went in Jeff's house? When? I don't remember you being gone anytime this morning or last night." Violet stood, while tucking the documents into the album that her and Gregory had snatched out of Pumpkin House a few days before.

"It was this morning. If you recall, I was gone for an hour. I…uh…headed to the school and thought that this would be a funny joke to pull on King in the mean time." She frowned. No intelligent person would believe that in the hour she was gone she was able to sneak into a house where people were probably still sleeping and acquire secret documents, without being caught. Luckily, she was not talking to any intelligent person.

"Oh…" For a moment, he seemed to be thinking. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, looking slightly miffed. Violet sighed. She'd need someone around now that Gregory had opted out. She wasn't about to go and converse with Brutus by herself. Defiance was better in numbers, and she needed to maintain her defiance against an ex cop. Still, Gregory seemed a lot brighter then Edward, who wouldn't be much good to her in intellectual ways…but at least she'd have him to boss around. She sighed.

"Alright, Lock…this is how it is…" She started, while setting the documents down. Outside, the wind blew against the wooden walls of the tree house, singing a chorus of an eerie melody as it shifted through the leaves.

Once again with Pumpkin Town. I know that people prefer the Law Of Your Anarchic Demise, but I have felt like writing on this one lately. I'll get back to the other story next though. Sorry if this isn't what you want. Still, I would appreciate a review. Thanx 


	27. Edward Gets Involved

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Edward Gets Involved

_He had memorized which floorboards creaked, so that when he walked about in the night, he would not awaken anyone in the house. On this night, it didn't matter. He heard voices at the bottom of the stairs. His descent was so silent it seemed that even the ancient wood slept under his light footfalls. It was a talent. _

_When he got halfway down the staircase he saw shadows on the rose wallpaper. He lowered himself quietly to the floor and leaned against the banister. The conversation taking place below drifted up to where he was hidden in the shadows of the night._

_"You said he's been sick?" Came the voice of a stranger in a suit. He brushed his whiskered cheek nervously under the sharp gaze of the man in front of him. _

_"Yes. He's been very ill. We were certain that he was dying…he…has just recently shown signs of improvement." The thin man was resting his hand on his cheek. His red hair fell lightly in his face, which housed eyes capable of cutting into people like a knife, or so it seemed. The elder gentlemen in a suit appeared to be growing uncomfortable under that gaze. _

_"Well…if he is indeed improving, then, do you really think this is a wise step to take?" The man asked. _

_The young man raised his head. _

_"You've never spoken to him. My wife has grown…very uneasy. She's currently staying with her mother until I can straighten this out. He's…disturbed. He has frightened us. I'm afraid it runs in the family…my father was much the same way."_

_The older gentleman watched those sharp eyes for a long moment before speaking. He was aware of a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. _

_"Well…the boy is thirteen years old, isn't he? He lost his father and mother…and as you have said he has been terribly ill. It's only natural that he should be showing some unusual behavior. I'm not sure If I should be admitting him to my facility under these…unfortunate circumstances. I'm sorry, Mr. Skellington." _

_The young man sat back for a moment, seemingly in thought. _

_"I understand. It's just…my wife…I understand that he's my nephew…but I have to respect her wishes too. And if he has inherited my father's…eccentricities, I do not wish for him to be around my family. It's not an atmosphere I desire to raise children in…I mean…I've seen how it all goes." The older man nodded sympathetically._

_"Yes. Of course." The man sighed and peered towards the window. "Perhaps…I could speak to the child? Then maybe I could make a personal diagnosis and if I think that he is eligible to be admitted, I will leave you my number and we can work something out." He couldn't help but notice that the man brightened up considerably as he stood and motioned towards the stairs. _

_"That's just fine. His room is upstairs, third door to the left." _

_The man in the suit stood and looked towards the stairway uncertainly. _

_"I won't wake him will I?" He asked as he approached the banister. _

_"I doubt it. He suffers from sleeplessness. He hasn't dozed much at all this week. Also, hereditary I'm afraid." _

_The man nodded and walked slowly up the stairs. For a moment, he was sure that he had seen movement, but he dismissed it. _

_Moments later, their came a soft knock on the boy's door. His gaze left the window and traveled towards the noise. The door opened a little and the stranger inched inward, ready to back out if he saw the child was indeed asleep._

_"Hello? Jack is it? Are you awake?" He jumped when he found the boy sitting up in his covers, watching him. When he regained his composure he walked the rest way in and shut the door behind him. _

_"Young man? Your uncle has sent me up to talk to you. He's very concerned about your behavior. He thinks you might be sick." He grinned in a way that the boy assumed was meant to friendly and pulled up a chair. He tried to look at ease, but kept his distance. When the boy didn't speak, the man's smile broadened as he continued to talk to the young man as though he were half his age…or very unstable._

_"He said that you have been kept in your bed for illness lately…but you look well. Are you feeling better?" The boy lowered his eyes. He still wasn't speaking. The man cleared his throat. _

_"Listen, Jack. I know your mother and father have…just recently passed away, but it's important to try and get over these things…take them in steps. If you don't, your mind can become unhealthy…it can become con…" _

_"He pretends I'm crazy because he's upset that I didn't die." Jack interrupted suddenly. The man laughed a little nervously. _

_"Now, I'm sure that isn't the case. Your uncle cares about you…he just…thinks you need to be in a place with people who can help you." Jack sighed and looked a way from the man, directing his gaze towards the large window by his bed once more. To the older man, he looked, for a moment, very old. _

_"She really does think I'm crazy. She got nervous when I spoke of the voices and the dreams." _

_If the thoughts of the man could have been heard out loud, they would have gone something like this. _

_'Ahh…now here we go. Some of them can appear so normal until they start talking about the voices and hallucinations.' He became a bit more cheerful. He knew how to deal with mad people. He was around them all the time. _

_"Your aunt? Tell me about the voices Jack." When the boy looked at him again his eyes were shaded unnaturally, he looked a little angry…the man shivered. _

_"You…could not possibly understand. Anything I tell you will simply be mistaken for madness. You've never lived in Pumpkin Town…you've never heard the voices. I'm alive because I know that if I die the town will die with me…and I won't let it happen!" The boy moved, and for a moment all the man could see were the dark eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy who was very tired, very lonely, and very (And this was what scared him.) very sane. When the boy laid back and the shadows overcame his face again the man stood sadly. _

_"I see. Well, it was nice talking to you…I'm sorry for your loss." He was aware that he has ceased to talk to the boy as though he were actually insane, and let it go. As he headed towards the door a quiet voice called after him. _

_"He pretends…he's not what he seems." It seemed the boy was half asleep and so, the man dismissed this. _

_As he headed down the stair, he nodded to Alex, who was watching him expectantly. _

_"Did you get what you needed, sir?" The man asked. The sharp gaze was back, looking ever more sharp after being caught in the malleable gaze of the weary child._

_"Well…I spoke to him…and personally…I don't think an insane asylum is what this child needs." He took his coat and pulled it over his shoulders. When he looked up, the gaze of the man in front of him was that of disbelief. _

_"Is that so?" The man said…almost disconcertingly. _

_"Yes." The man responded, trying to hold his gaze with that of Alexander's. _

"_And what…pray tell…do you think he needs?" He asked, while leaning on the table. _

"_His family, Mr. Skellington. A little counseling, perhaps. But mostly, I think he needs a little compassion from his only living relative…he has some funny ideas about you Mr. Skellington." _

_Alex cleared his throat. _

"_I have tried everything my patience will allow. This is my only remaining option. Will you admit him or not?" There was acid in his voice. _

_The older man sighed and pulled a card from his jacket. _

"_You may speak to someone in my building about it…if you must." He replaced a hat upon his head and started to head out into the night, before Alex closed the door on him, he turned. _

"_Oh…and I'm so sorry for your loss, sir." Alex appeared to be in thought. The older man's words brought him out. _

"_My loss?" He asked, with his eyebrow raised. The man cleared his throat. _

"_Your brother sir…and sister in law…" _

"_Oh…yes…yes…course. Thank you." He didn't sound too terribly broken up about it…but the man figured, as he walked to his car, there were many sorts of people in the world. Including those less compassionate sort. _

* * *

Brutus was sitting at the table, half asleep when his doorbell rang. He stood and went to his front door, grumbling lightly to himself as he did. 

After opening it, he resisted the urge to slam it shut again and fasten all of the locks on the side. He frowned.

Violet was standing on his doorstep with her arms crossed. Behind her, Edward was looking around in a petulant manner. It was obvious he would rather be somewhere else, doing something more destructive.

"No." Brutus said after a moment. He was pointing at Edward, but looking at Violet. For a moment, Edward looked slightly offended.

"I can deal with you…mostly…and I can deal with Mr. Garret, but I will not let him set foot in this house!"

"Hey!" Edward said bitterly. "What did I ever do to you?"

For a moment Brutus looked at him in disbelief.

"Last year you set my car on fire!" Brutus hollered while pointing a finger towards the boy.

Edward, who appeared to be trying to hold back laughter (Or rather, was laughing, but couldn't after getting a sharp jab from Violet in the stomach.) responded after finally catching his breath.

"Hey, that was an accident, I was just trying to empty the gasoline. At least you weren't IN the car at the time." He argued. Brutus' eyes narrowed.

"The engine exploded! Part of the hood went through my upstairs window, scared the crap out of me!" He said, pointing wildly at a half boarded window on the top floor of his house. "You are NOT setting foot my house."

He turned his angry gaze towards Violet who was fishing something out of her backpack.

"Violet, where the hell is Gregory? I thought you guys were going to drop by after he got out of school." He looked at Edward with distaste.

Edward, who had been making faces at him while his attention was elsewhere, snapped out of childish behavior and looked at Violet quickly, who had found the papers, but still appeared to be VERY interesting in something else. Far too interested to meet his gaze.

"Gregory?" He asked, a little guardedly. Violet handed the papers over to Brutus, while purposefully ignoring her brother.

"Doesn't matter anymore. Here are the papers." She said quickly. Brutus looked down at them in curiosity and took them from her.

"Did he find…?"

"Everything's there. I checked. Even got the map…but Jeff wrote all over it so you can barely read some of it."

Brutus gazed at the large map distastefully.

"What I wouldn't give to punch that guy in the nose." He said, mostly to himself. Edward's cautious look turned to that of mild irritation. He looked back and forth between Brutus and Violet. Neither of them were paying any attention to him. For a moment he felt the urge to grab his sister by the shoulders and hit her hard across the face just to knock some sense back into her.

Brutus sighed and opened the door a little wider.

"I guess you should come in…but YOU, you keep your hands where I can see them." He pointed at Edward. "And I swear Violet if you or your brother do anything while your in my house I will personally provide your mother with a reason to send you away…and the name of a place that will HAVE to take you." He turned his back on both children and stepped into the house. Both kids made faces towards his back almost in unison.

Violet started to head in but was halted when Edward grabbed her roughly by the back of her collar.

"Hold on, Shock." He said bitterly. She shook him off angrily and gave him an irritated look.

"Why are we here? We have all of that stuff on Jeff…why don't we use it for our OWN purposes…you know…blackmail and stuff." Violet's eyes narrowed.

"Because, Maybe if we do things differently this time…we can get rid of him for good." She replied. She turned and started to head for the door again.

"Well what fun is giving all of that stuff to a retired Police man?" Yelled in frustration while walking around her and cutting her off at the entrance.

"And why are hanging around Gregory Garret?" He added, while pointing an accusing finger at her. "I thought we both though he was a loser…" Something like horror crossed his face as a thought occurred. "You don't actually…LIKE Gregory do you?" He asked, sounding as though he were trying to confirm or deny something absolutely dreadful.

Violet slapped his accusing finger out of her face heatedly and shoved him out of the way of the door.

"Shut up Edward! If you think I'm going to hang around YOU all of the time, then your even more stupid then you look." She pushed past him, finally entering the house.

Edward looked after her in surprised fury. He had been sure, absolutely SURE that she would have denied liking anyone like Gregory Garret. He kicked at something hard in his vehemence. It turned out to be Brutus' wicker chair…a couple of the straps snapped after…and the whole thing fell backwards and knocked into a flowerpot (Probably left over from when the man had been married…Brutus himself didn't seem like much of a floral man.), which tipped over and broke. Edward didn't seem to care too much.

"I swear Gregory, the next time I see you…" He said through his teeth. He then followed after his sister, swiping a pocketknife from one of Brutus' end tables as he did.

To Mistress Of Nightmares: Thanx alot for all of the reviews. I appreciate them. : )


	28. A Conversation Overheard

_Chapter 27_

_A Conversation Overheard_

_It was the morning of October 24th _

There was a knock at the door. Anne awoke in what had been a heavy slumber. (It was a wonder she awoke at all…for her snoring was so loud.) She got out of bed and put on her robe, glancing just briefly at the time. It was 7:00. She frowned. Who would be calling at this hour?

By the time she reached the front door, the knocking had become rather desperate.

"I'm coming!" She hollered. She undid the bolts on the door and pulled it open.

Standing on her doorstep, looking slightly unstrung and smiling unnaturally was Mr. King. When he saw it was her his smile widened a bit. It was a little creepy.

"Ms. Garret. I apologize…and I know it's early…but do you think that I could perhaps talk to your son for a moment?" Anne, who was still groggy from being awakened so early in the morning, yawned and then smiled herself…apparently oblivious to the odd way the man was carrying himself.

"Good morning, Mr. King. I'm afraid Gregory's still sleeping…perhaps you can come back later?" Mr. King cleared his throat.

"Well, you see, it's kind of important…I…er…have reason to suspect that your son has taken something from my house." He gave her a falsely apologetic look.

Her smiled froze.

"He's…stolen…?" She looked slightly staggered.

"Oh…well…I'm sure it was just a joke…and he couldn't have possibly known how important it was…but I would like to have it back…so if I could just…"

"Oh…Mr. King…I'm so sorry! Please come in…I'll wake him up this moment!" She stepped out of the doorway, allowing a relieved looking Jeff to enter her home. Once she had taken his coat and had made sure he was comfortable in the living room she turned sharply toward the stairs and headed towards Gregory's bedroom.

"GREGORY!" She hollered. Mr. King flinched a little. "Gregory Garret get down here right now!"

Mr. King watched her head up the stairs before scowling and resting his chin in his hand. He supposed he should just be glad that it was Gregory who had taken the papers from him and not an old resident…otherwise he might be in a lot more trouble then he was now if he got the papers back from Gregory right away.

Anne, who both furious and horribly embarrassed, barged into her nephew's room without any consideration for the boy's nerves.

"Gregory!" She bellowed towards…no one at all. For a moment she looked slightly off kilter. Her rage vanished, turning into confusion.

"Gregory?" She approached his empty bed…as if to make sure her eyes were really seeing an empty bed or not. Then, after a moment of quiet consideration…she turned towards the closet and yanked it open.

"Hiding will only worsen…" Her words cut off. He wasn't in his closet. She frowned and just before leaving Greg's empty room, checked under the bed just to be sure.

Mr. King watched her curiously as she descended the stairs…looking perplexed. When she got to the bottom she crossed to the closet across from the stairway and opened it.

"Ms Garret?" Jeff questioned while standing…worry edging into his voice once more. "Umm…your son?" Anne closed the closet door, frowning.

"His jackets gone…"

"What?" Mr. King asked, horrified.

"He isn't here." Her looked of confusion had turned to that of anger and worry. "I can't imagine what in the world has gotten into that boy!" She turned to Jeff.

"I apologize…he's usually so well behaved."

Mr. King didn't appear to be listening.

"I don't suppose I could look for the files in the boys room?" He said this partially to himself, then, noting the look on the woman's face he backpedaled quickly.

"I'm sorry. The important thing right now is finding your son. We can take my car." He stood and headed for the door. Anne's look turned from that of outrage to that of relief and gratitude.

"Thank you so much Mr. King!" She said as she grabbed her own coat from the closet and followed him out the door towards his car.

XXX

Gregory walked down the street with his hands in his pockets. The sky, a rosy color associated with sunrise stretched out above him. One by one, the lanterns in front of the houses along the road winked out.

Normally he didn't go out for walks…especially at 7:00 in the morning…when it was cold out…but on this morning he had awoken at 6:00 and, feeling restless and frustrated had decided to give the exercise a try. He had been up half of the night with a busy mind…and after finally getting to sleep at 3:00, had had a series of nightmares that he had awakened from, all of them unnaturally clear and unfading.

When he reached The Skellington School he crossed the street and headed down Sovereignty Road.

_Formidable St. _

…Kicking at stones randomly and thinking to himself. Every once in a while a foreign thought would enter his mind and send him off into another, entirely different train of reflection. The streets were fairly empty. It was, after all, 7:00 on a Saturday morning. No one in his or her right mind was up…and so he assumed, gratefully, that he wouldn't be disturbed. (Except…so close to Halloween…no one in town really was in their right minds.)

It took him a little a while before the thought finally surfaced…but it did eventually come. It was then, when he has the sense enough to wonder where exactly he planned on going.

Gregory stopped, aware that he was about thirty feet from Town Hall. He looked up at the clock, hoping to catch the time. For a moment he started.

_12:00_

Then, slowly, the remembrance that the clock had stopped (had, in fact, stopped long before him and his aunt even moved into town.) filled his mind. He frowned and shook his head, as if to shake out the cobwebs.

_Out of habit…_he thought to himself_. I looked up at that clock out of habit…but I've never been here before…and as far as I know…I've never lived in a place old enough to have a clock over its school and Town Hall…so how…could that thought have come to me? _

He shivered.

_Soon, it will play a piece of her song…towards the end now…because it's almost Halloween. _

And for a moment, Gregory almost imagined the clock hand was at the fifteen…and he could almost hear the first notes of a lyric. He shook his head and backed away…seeing, of course, that the clock hands had not moved an inch.

"Wow…maybe I'm going nuts."

"Well…talking to yourself is a sure sign of that." Said a loud voice behind him. Gregory jumped and spun around. He was relieved to see it was just Mr. Venison, who's stern brown was furled in an untrusting manner. (But it was okay…because he looked at everyone like this.) He wasn't alone. At his heel was Marion, who looked as though he were trying to shrink into his father to avoid Gregory's gaze.

"You're keeping well, Greg?" Mr. Venison asked. Gregory nodded, rubbing his forehead a little to clear what cobwebs had been there.

"Good." He cast a weary look at his son…who seemed to be finding something VERY interesting with a crumpled leaf at his foot.

"Just out for early shopping. Wife's mother is coming." He gave a look that all men everywhere could relate to when facing a long week with their in-laws. "It's early…but I'm glad I ran into you…seems my son has been less then hospitable lately." He gave his son a sharp look. Marion looked as though he wished a crack would swallow him whole.

Gregory, for a moment, was amused when it occurred to him that Marion no longer seemed to be frightened of the Wayward kids coming to get Marion if he associated with him. He now, in fact, seemed to be wary of Gregory himself. Greg saw a reflection of himself when he first came to town in the boy's behavior. He was glad. He knew he shouldn't have been…but he was tired, confused and frustrated enough so that he didn't much care.

"I understand Marion apologized…but…seeing the way he's been behaving…I don't think he did much of a good job. Now I have some business in the Town Hall…shouldn't take long…but I would not have any problem leaving Marion here so that you boys could work this out." He adjusted an array of things he was holding in his arms. Marion gave him a horrified look.

"But dad!" He quieted when he saw the look his father gave him. "I'll be right back." He said, before leaving his son, thus, taking away what cover he had given him.

Marion gazed at Gregory for a moment, his eyebrows creased in concern. Gregory raised his brow, then turned away from Marion and considered walking further down the street; his contemplation was broken, however, when Marion spoke to him.

"Is it true…that…um…you and Violet are…er…friends?" Gregory turned towards him, faintly surprised. Marion recoiled slightly when he did.

After considering this, Gregory shook his head.

"No…we're not friends…she hates me." He said simply. A look of sudden relief flooded across Marion's face.

"Oh good…I thought…I mean…the way you were acting…I thought you were one of them."

Gregory felt slightly annoyed…he wasn't sure why…still; he suddenly wished Marion's dad would come for him and take him away so he could be alone again.

"Hey listen, I'm sorry about before. I mean…Violet scares the crap out of me…it wasn't like I didn't like you or anything…I just didn't want to get on her bad side…you know the way she is…and her brother is a mental case." Gregory felt something like a hot ball of wax growing in his stomach. He actually sounded cheerful now. Since Gregory had first set foot in that school, Marion had done nothing but avoid him for his own safety…now…he wanted to be friends…just like that.

A wave of vertigo hit him that he associated with a sudden assault of fury…it occurred to him that he may have been spending too much time around Violet in the last few days.

"They do seem to be leaving you alone now though…hehehe…I guess part of that is because of the beating they took the other day. They've left almost everyone alone in fact…except for Justin…a sheriff found him taped to a park bench the other night around 10:00 at night…can you believe that? Still…if it was him who taught those guys a lesson…he must not be near as bad as everyone thinks…" Gregory felt he couldn't listen to Marion talk for much longer. He decided this was a good place to cut in.

"Justin's a weak minded insufferable little brat with a fruity fashion sense and arrogance all the way up to that pasty, sticky hair do. Ten o' clock you said? Haha…we taped him up at around 3:00."

For a moment Marion looked as if he had been slapped.

"You? You did that?"

"Mostly Violet did…but I helped. I'm glad…I hate that kid."

Marion took a few unconscious steps back.

"I thought…I thought you said you weren't friends." He said nervously.

"Oh we're not." Gregory said, while stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I just blackmailed her into helping me with something…I've never even talked with Edward though…course…he doesn't seem to be the sort of person you could really hold a conversation with. Far too stupid, mm?" He laughed bitterly and was almost shocked when he heard himself do it. It had the desired effect, despite its foreignness to his own ears. Marion recoiled visibly, his eyes sliding hopefully towards the door into town hall.

Gregory was grinning at him now, in a grin he really hoped was at least half as maniacal as that of the Waywards'.

"You black mailed Violet!" He looked shocked and horrified. "How?"

"Wasn't too hard. I backed out though…that way she can get into her own trouble…payback you know…I don't like it when people treat me poorly. She's so stupid she actually believed it"

"You set Violet up?" Marion asked in a shaky voice. Gregory just grinned in response.

Of course it wasn't true. Gregory HAD blackmailed Violet, but she had been in such bad shape at the time it didn't make much difference...and the reason he had asked her to help him, rather then anyone else, was because of what Brutus had told him. Whether they were horrible children or not, the Waywards still had a spirit that the rest of the town did not. They chose to show their spirit in cruel and bitter ways, true, but it still didn't change the fact that part of them…perhaps a part they had even forgotten from a long time back, was doing everything because they felt betrayed. They felt the town had betrayed itself and their father. (Well…Violet did anyway…Gregory had a feeling Edward might just be that sort of person who takes pleasure in seeing other people suffer…and didn't have to have any other reason aside from his own entertainment.)

In other words, they were NOT good kids deep down inside…or even decent kids for that matter…but in some horrible, twisted way…they made a lot of sense.

"Yeah…" Gregory lied. "I set her up."

At that moment, to the immense relief (Although, Marion was by far the most pleased of the both of them.) Mr. Venison came out of The Town Hall and motioned for his son to follow him.

"All done…I hope you boys have made up." Marion didn't bother to answer. Rather, he hurried away from Gregory, seeking out his father as though he were some sort of sanctuary.

Gregory nodded to Mr. Venison when he waved farewell and then started to walk back down the street towards Royal Street.

_Hallow Lane _

For a second he wondered if lying had been such a good idea. After only a moment he shrugged it off. Marion was too much of a coward to speak to anyone about what he had said…and no one else had heard him…and even if he did get in trouble over it…he was far too tired to care at that present time. He was just about to thoroughly shrug it off when he heard a noise behind him.

_It's Jeff _his mind told him; _It's Jeff or Justin or it's one of the Wayward kids and my nightmare is going to start all over again. _He turned slowly, his face blank. And was not at all surprised to see he had been right…well…partially right anyways.

At first he was just exhausted enough to try and convince himself it was a hallucination. Violet, standing far enough away from him now so he might have a head start and a prayers of a chance to get away if he started running at that very moment…but close enough to where he had been standing to over hear every…single…word he had said. She looked furious…and…she was holding a bat. The situation…did not look good.

XXX

They had spent a good deal of the evening at Brutus' the day before. For a long time after they left Violet waited for the moment when the eerily calm behavior he had developed in the past hours would fall suddenly. When it did come, he would try to fight with her and she would hit him once in the face and stomach and then would hold him down with his arm twisting behind his back until he called mercy. This was a normal ritual between them whenever either of them grew angry with each other.

When he didn't do this she grew nervous. Early that morning she had told him that she was going out to smash mailboxes and that he could come if he wanted. She had said it in a voice that said, very clearly, to stop moping and acting strange, or she would skip all of the stuff on his side and just go to the part where she kicked his butt.

For a moment, he didn't budge, then, reluctantly he had followed her. He was still moping when they got out to town…but at least he had reverted to somewhat normal behavior.

He had been hassling some small creature when Violet broke away from him, upon seeing the top of Town Hall cresting above the surrounding buildings. She remembered something that Brutus had said the night before about Mr. Kings residential records and had approached the building to see if she couldn't weasel them out of the guy at the desk on that very morning.

This, however had stopped her. She had entered the conversation at the point where Gregory had just finished verbally bashing Justin. (Which she had been perfectly fine with.) From then on, the conversation arose within her a series of emotions which raged across her mind so fast that it was hard to keep track of them all.

She felt momentary surprise and disbelief followed by foolishness, embarrassment and finally anger…which ultimately cancelled everything else out. (There were other things in there as well…but Violet hardly held with feeling anything like hurt or betrayal anymore. In her mind these were weak emotions.)

After it was over when she was watching Gregory walk away she felt even more fury. In that time she had come out of the place where she had been hiding and was standing in plain sight, waiting for him to notice her…waiting for that oh so pleasant and comforting look of surprised terror to cross his face right before she re arranged it. It almost didn't come.

Finally, before realizing what she was doing, she rose the bat that her and Edward had been using on mailboxes and slammed it loudly into the siding of the house she was standing next to. Gregory stopped, turned slowly. When he caught sight of her his eyes widened…but rather then seeing fear she saw guilt and shame in them. She didn't think he knew that was what he was showing…but that's what was there. Suddenly, she hated him. She hated him because she knew that he had tricked her and she knew that at this time, at least, she wasn't going to do a thing about it.

Without a word she threw the bat hard enough to the ground so that it cracked when it hit the pavement. Then, she turned and walked away.

She was upset for many reasons. But the biggest reason was that Gregory had actually done it… he had hurt her. He had used something that tied in with her dad and the town and she had believed him! Now, all hopes of getting rid of that idiot King fell away. Of course he had been leading her on. Jack was dead, King had no dangerous secrets…and everything…everything had been one enormous lie. How could she have been so stupid?

"Oh…but he'll pay." She said venomously.

She didn't notice when Jeff King's car drove by.

Okay…wow…this chapter changed under my fingers. Oh well…I hope it didn't suck…tell me if it did. : )


	29. In The Graveyard

Chapter 28:

In The Graveyard

Gregory stood where he was for a long time after Violet left…his mind racing. He felt some form of relief…but only for a moment before it gave in to absolute horror. Violet had heard him.

He frowned, and for one brief moment he thought of following her. Then, his logic caught up with him and he cringed back from the idea. Instead, he shoved his hands back into his pocket and turned back towards the road. He took about two steps before he heard the engine.

_It's the black Cadillac coming to take you away. _

He frowned and looked over his shoulder, this thought putting him in an unpleasant state of mind. What he saw, down the road sent panic throughout his mind.

_It's Jeff!_

He recognized the clinking noise associated with a badly battered car. Behind the glass he saw two obscure figures. However, he did not stand around long enough to identify them, but rather, hurried towards the large doors of the Town Hall. By the time the tattered car reached the spot where he had been, Gregory had closed the heavy doors behind him, and had taken off, much to the desk clerks annoyance down a random hallway.

XXX

Jeff's car came to a stop in front of Town Hall. His sharp blue eyes scanned the yard quickly. Beside him Anne was looking out the other window with a mixture of concern and anger written across her face. Inwardly, Jeff cursed. If only he could dump this woman off so he could go back and search for this things. At this thought, he cleared his throat and turned towards her.

"I think I saw him head inside, Madam. Perhaps you would like to search? He's your son."

"Nephew." She corrected. "Inside there?" She pointed towards the Town Hall. Jeff nodded.

"Only thing is, I have other things I have to attend to, and cannot stay. I wonder if you could ever forgive me if I requested that you walk home…it is a rather nice day."

Anne smiled politely.

"Of course that'd be fine. It'll give me a chance to talk things through with Gregory, and I will be sure to get a hold of you once I get him to turn over your things. I do apologize."

"Nonsense." Jeff returned, while grinning a kind manner. "You have no need to apologize." She returned his smile and left his car, waving pleasantly as she disappeared into Town Hall. He waved in return.

After she was gone he lowered his hand and his smile faded as he pulled away from the curb and headed back towards Gregory and Anne's house. All the while his eyes were set with a certain frightening malice.

XXX

Gregory rushed down an unfamiliar hallway, following the exit signs posted up on various cream colored walls. Finally, he reached the glowing exit sign at the end of the hall and stopped. He leaned up against the wall, and for a moment, remained there to catch his breath. After a while, he swallowed and pushed open the door a little to look out. When he did a few colored leaves blew in and spun to the ground around his feet.

From where he was standing he saw a section of the street, which was bare. The door opened to the back of the building, giving him some considerable coverage from most of the town. He stepped onto the grass and looked around.

For the most part the yard looked abandoned. There were a few massive trees and a plaque or two stating the town's age. In one corner of a fence, which was, for the most part torn down, there was a Well covered in ivy.

Gregory wondered over to the fence, for he was far more interested in what was beyond it, rather then what was in it. Once, there was a small church behind the Town Hall. This was before a large one was built a few miles outside of town and people started going to it. For, although this one was within walking distance, it was built long before Pumpkin Town was called Pumpkin Town…and therefore was not made to hold many people and was rather primitive. The townsfolk, who were sick of sitting in uncomfortable pews with the smell of mildew and the ages around them, decided they'd much rather drive the extra couple miles, rather then put up with the ancient structure.

And so the church fell in disrepair.

Gregory stepped over a broken piece of fence, and headed towards the small building, which was slightly charred, cracked and battered in many ways. The cross, which had once been on the roof, lay in two pieces on the ground. Gregory ignored all this however (Though he might have appreciated it if he was in any way artistic…or religious.) and headed straight towards the only place that was still in use. The graveyard.

It wasn't very large, as graveyards in small towns tended not to be. Still, it was impressive, just because it was ancient. Every grave seemed to have character. Last names were written in stone, over dates, some of which were over a hundred, even two hundred years old. Many of them were cracked and covered in moss and vines that twisted around them in an almost perfect way.

As Gregory walked through, he noticed, to his interest and slight displeasure that the ground sank in, in some area's where the ground had become soft, for it was obvious that this was a graveyard that existed when dirt and earth were the only two things that kept the dead from the living.

Gregory stopped, watching dead leaves blow across the gray. He felt oddly inspired…like he was close to something important.

His eyes swept over the small graveyard till they set on a grave in the center, large and impressive. He smiled in a humorless way and headed towards it.

XXX

She had said little to Edward before stomping over to Brutus's house. (Well, she had told him to shut up and leave her alone…but that was, for the most part, all she had said.) The wind, which had picked up since that morning whistled through the trees and added her annoyance as it blew against her.

When she reached his old and rickety house, she found him already sitting on the porch, rocking in his chair and drinking warm tea. He caught sight of her halfway across the street, noted the ferocity of her façade, and sat up immediately, setting his tea in front of him in a careful way.

"Violet?" He said, a little cautiously. Her face was flushed in scarlet, and she looked as though she were about to kick something…or someone.

"He…tricked us!" She yelled at him furiously. "And the deals off! So give me the stuff back!" Brutus stood, frowning.

"Calm down Violet." He said, slightly concerned. He imagined any other child, when in this sort of mood, would have, at this point burst into scornful tears. Violet, of course was not normal, so, instead her fists tightened and her face became more set in her anger and hatred. "Now who tricked us?" He asked, confused.

Her jaw tightened.

"Gregory. He was kidding…the whole time. So give me the stuff…because one way or the other, I'm going to make Jeff King pay!"

Brutus, who felt a sick amount of disappointment seize him, sat back down in his chair and sighed, looking over towards Pumpkin House as he did.

"So Jack is…"

"A corpse. Are you going to give me the stuff or not?"

Brutus' face twisted into distaste. Then he shook his head.

"No…unfortunately it'll have to be returned. I can't believe this." He said, feeling slightly ill. A…what? Eight-year-old kid convinced him to assist in breaking the law…

_I believed him! _He thought and shook his head.

"Amazing." He whispered to himself. Violet was glaring at him. He frowned.

"Go home Violet, your not getting those papers." Violet grumbled something to herself and, clutching her fingers hard enough so that he nails cut into her palms, she turned and left.

"Oh, he is going to pay." Brutus caught from her as she went. This time, he had a feeling that Violet was talking about Gregory, rather then Jeff. He found that he could sympathize with her. Right now he was pretty PO'd at the child as well. And, working on mainly anger, he stood up, dumping out his tea first, and headed inside to leave a long message for Gregory's aunt to find. He let him get out of trouble before…but perhaps it was time for Gregory to be punished for the irresponsible things that he had done.

XXX

Unaware that things were about to get rather unfortunate for him, Gregory was standing in front of grave with the word

SKELLINGTON

Written on it in bold letters.

He examined the grave thoughtfully for a moment, before looking off towards the direction of Pumpkin House. Inwardly, a part of him was yelling for him to leave it alone. Just let the whole thing drop and fall away. It was, after all, none of his concern.

Still, that voice had become quite small in the last few weeks, so that, where it had once controlled many of his actions, it now was but a whisper, carried away with the autumn wind.

In the distance, Pumpkin House stood atop the small hill that headed into town. It was at the head of the whole thing, as much of a mystery as everything else in this settlement. Gregory tilted his head to the side and watched the house with curiosity. A ways from him, a grave creaked ominously. He ignored it, instead, turning towards the Skellington grave.

**_Skellington_**

_**Wallace R. / Barb M. **_

_**Jericho N. / Hesper P. **_

_**Hector M. / Susannah H. **_

_**Anastasia P. **_

_**Viktor K. **_

Gregory thought for a moment, while touching the grave lightly. In the corner, was a bouquet of plastic roses, which would also, with the coming of years, eventually wilt (In a manner of speaking.) or blow away, but were, for now, still there.

He looked up again at Pumpkin House. Lights off, shades drawn, no car in the driveway…he could tell even from where he was standing. And yet…and yet the light in the front of the house was lit, as always…

"But not because it's haunted." He whispered. He remembered the basement…how REAL it felt. He remembered the fireplace and the lights and how quiet the man moved. He remembered the decorations, how lifelike the mirages were…how the lights went on over the bridge, one after another…how the clock was set…

_He's there now. _

He thought, and as soon as the thought entered his head he was almost sure it was true because no one, who went to that much trouble to make the house look haunted, he thought, would miss Halloween.

He began to head towards the street, all thoughts of leaving the whole mystery alone leaving his mind. He only paused once, to make sure Jeff wasn't around, before setting off towards Pumpkin House.

XXX

Yay! Wee for updates. I still love all of you! I haven't forgotten! Expect another soon. (Or at least much sooner then this one.)


	30. I Know Who You Are

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

I Know Who You Are

A dark room became light, the grandfather clock was wound, and all of the things he had turned off, for safety purposes were reactivated. Jack sat in a large armchair in his living room with his chin rested on his palm. At his heel, Zero was attempting in vain to get his attention.

Pumpkin House was very large…and when one was alone it seemed to grow all the more. It never felt empty, however. One could always imagine the memory, the lasting imprint of people who were still lingering behind doors or in pictures, in the strange breezes that came without reason or the shadows, which were so numerous. Jack didn't think that his imagination was the only thing that haunted his grandfather's house.

He was brought out of his thoughts as a low, sweet music began to play somewhere in the room. He blinked and stood. It seemed to come from the drawer of the desk next to the window. The key, which he knew to be taped to the underside of the desk, was inserted into the lock and Jack opened the drawer curiously. Inside, a music box had apparently decided that it had remained silent for far too long. Jack knew the tune…it used to play every day in the month of October, for the entire town to hear. It was his grandmother's favorite. He hadn't known her, but he knew because his grandfather had once told him. One of the few private things he had ever shared when in Jack's company.

Zero let out an abrupt bark, which startled Jack. In his hands the music box fell silent. Jack put it back in the drawer and turned to Zero, who barked again.

"Quiet Zero, we aren't supposed to be here." He said softly. Zero, who was generally loyal barked again and then ran quickly into the kitchen. Jack raised his eyebrow and followed, nudging Zero away from the door, as the small white dock scratched at it excitedly. The tall slender man opened it a crack and peered out.

Standing on the doorstep was the boy he had seen from earlier in the week. He looked as though he were just about to knock. When he saw Jack, he suddenly looked awkward.

"Er…hi…" He said after a long pause.

"I believe I left your stuff on the porch…if you came for the decorations, I'm afraid this is a bad time." Jack said.

"Umm…I don't need them anymore." Gregory replied cautiously.

"Okay…then…if you don't mind…I don't really want company at the moment." He started to close the door on Gregory's suddenly desperate face.

"Wait! I know who you are!" Gregory said quickly. The door paused and then cautiously opened again. Jack gave Gregory a suspicious look.

"What was your name again?" He asked.

"Um…Greg. I moved in a few weeks ago…and I know who you are." He said, in a much more ordinary voice. Still there was a touch of worry in his tone.

"Well then…who am I?" Jack asked, doubt ebbing into his eyes.

"Your Jack Skellinton." Gregory replied. Behind the door, the man's eyes widened, and for the first time Gregory saw a touch of fear in his countenance.

XXX

Jack examined the boy over a cup of coffee. Gregory, who was sitting across from him at his dusty kitchen table was playing absently with his fingers. He had turned down Jack's offer for coffee or tea, for he was partial to neither.

Jack who had been silent for a long time, finally, sat down his coffee cup and with an inquiring look on his face, posed a question to the boy.

"How did you know?"

"The picture…in the Town Hall." Jack's eyebrows wrinkled.

"Picture?" He thought for a moment. It had been years since he had ventured into the Town Hall.

"Of…Hector Skellington." Gregory said, looking slightly uncomfortable. "It's a big portrait…"

"Oh?" Jack responded. Then, when he could not recall such a thing he shook his head. "Grandfather never liked to have his picture taken. He used to have theories that camera's could steal a person's soul. Of course…he was only joking…" He paused here…as though to question himself on whether or not this statement was true. "Still I don't believe he ever smiled for a camera." Jack finished. For a moment his eyes glazed, as he seemed to recall some incident from his childhood.

Jack took another drink of his coffee. He felt uneasy, which was a thing that, although he was familiar with, was generally also kept under generous control. He looked up again at Gregory, as he did, his irises were only visible for a moment, before shadows pulled into the pits of his eyes, making his features somewhat skeletal.

"Does anyone else know?" He asked in a quiet voice. Gregory must have sensed the weight of importance in this question, and so, answered it with caution.

"Yes…" He said slowly, and then finished his sentence hurriedly before the thin man could react. "But only a girl a little older then me and the old man who lives down the street. That's it, I swear."

Jack eyed him with concern. Then, weariness washed over him and he sat back and exhaled steadily.

"An old man? Do you mean Mr. Stiltz?" He asked, now all his words seemed to come out with the heave a sigh.

"Yes."

"And he believes you?" There was a hint of surprise in the man's voice.

"Ye-…actually…I'm not sure. I don't think he has an opinion either way yet." Gregory said, although, at this point he was not yet aware of what had occurred only minutes before between Violet and Brutus.

"Hmm…and the girl?" Jack asked, in deep contemplation.

"Er…Violet…Violet Wayward." Jack nodded.

"And would she be the daughter of Garetty Wayward?"

"Uh…yes…but…he died." Gregory could only assume from Jack's reaction that he had not known this. He seemed confused for a moment, and then gloomy.

"He used to work with my father." _Now all of the men who rebuilt this town are gone. _This part he did not say, but the words lingered in his mind and in the atmosphere of the room for a few moments.

There was silence…and Gregory took the opportunity to ask his own question…the one, which had sat in his mind for a long time since he guessed that Jack Skellington was alive.

"Uh…Mr. Skellington?" He asked, the title feeling weird on his tongue.

"Just Jack, please." Jack replied, apparently without thought…for he appeared to be in his own world now.

"Alright…Jack, uhh…why are you pretending to be dead? I mean…your suppose to be the owner of the town, right? Do you just…not want it?" He didn't feel like pointing out that if this were the case, it would be much easier to just sell rather then live like a corpse.

Jack stared into his coffee, apparently searching for something that wasn't there.

"I love this town." He said, his mind still elsewhere. Finally, after a few moments he shook his head of cobwebs and stood. "I think it's time that you leave." He said suddenly.

Gregory frowned, but mentally told himself that he had no intention of leaving. He needed to find a weakness…pry at it…anything to get the answer. He had to know…it was…_important_. He recalled something from the other day, when the house was empty save for him, Violet, Brutus and…

"Is it Jeff?" He asked suddenly. Jack's hand froze as he was in the process of pouring himself another cup of strong black coffee. He set his cup down. "Because, you know…technically…if he doesn't have your permission…what he's doing is illegal." Jack shook his head.

"It doesn't matter." He said morosely. "He has every printed document that would aid in any contradiction. Besides…there are…other things…not of your concern." Gregory felt excitement well up inside him, and for a moment he spoke without thinking in the least what effect it would have.

"He doesn't have everything. I took a bunch of those old papers from his house when I went over there for dinner with my aunt. Brutus has the Will right now." When jack turned towards him he felt like running. His face was a wretched masque of dismay. Now, more then ever, he looked like a corpse.

"You…took…Oh dear." He paused, as a hundred thoughts seemed to hit him all at once. Finally he turned and put, well, nearly slammed his hands, palm first on the table.

"You must give them back!" He said. "Does he know? Does he suspect you?" Gregory, who had subconsciously tried to back up from the tall man while still sitting, remained speechless for a moment, his eyes wide.

"Uh…I don't know if he noticed yet…but if he does…yes…he'd probably suspect me."

"He can't find out! You must return them. Sneak in and put them back if you have to…but you can't keep them and you can't let him find them."

Gregory looked down at the table, then back into the pale and sleepless face of the twenty three year old man.

"Why? What can he do?" He said, obvious defiance in his tone. Jack's face came nearer, and took on the qualities of someone who would probably make a hell of ghost story teller.

"You do not know him like I do. Anything, believe me. He'd do just about anything." He grew tired once more and pulled back, sitting quietly in the seat nearest to him.

"Do you have them at your house?" He asked. Gregory swallowed and shook his head, expecting another outburst. It didn't come.

"Where are they?"

"I gave then to Violet…she probably took them to Brutus…" Jack nodded.

"If she did, then he'll have them…he would want to hold onto them."

"Well," Gregory started. "I can stop by there and ask for them…or can have him bring them to you." Jack sighed.

"That is, if their still there."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Gregory asked, perplexed.

"You said he hadn't made up his mind. I know Brutus. If he believes you…even a little he'll keep them…he'd break a hundred laws to keep them locked away from Jeff. But if he doesn't believe you…he'd return them." Gregory looked surprised.

"He helped me make the plan! Besides, he hates Jeff…I can tell." Jack smiled a little, but it was hallow and sad.

"Yes, I don't think he ever cared for him…as far as I remember." This seemed an odd statement to Gregory, but he let it pass. He had other concerns. "Still, he is a cop…" He stopped and examined Gregory's face. "Was a cop? Well, even in retirement he would have a high respect for the law." Gregory nodded.

"He let me get away with a few things." He said in a low voice. Jack nodded.

"Sometimes…the law isn't on the right side." Jack replied. "You should ask Brutus for the papers back. I don't care what you say…tell him your conscience is bothering you…but you must return them to Jeff. Believe me…it's for the best." He said the last statement as though even he did not truly believe it.

Gregory thought for a moment. He didn't have any intention of handing those papers back to Jeff King…not after all he went through to get them…to figure things out. Finally he came to a conclusion.

"I'll sneak them back into Jeff's house." He said carefully. "But…only on one condition." Jack gave him a slightly irritated look. He knew the beginnings of blackmail when he saw it.

"Oh?" He said with hidden animosity in his voice. "And what's this?"

"That _you _go to Brutus and ask him for the papers back yourself."

XXX

I know it's been a while and I apologize. I need to finish this story and still intend to completely. I have been rather busy lately…and I'm wretched at holding back on ideas for other stories, so my list of those I must complete has grown ridiculously large. Luckily, two are very near completion (1 and 2 chapters away), and I believe at the most this one only has five chapters left…that is, of course if I don't linger. Special Keys for Special Doors may take longer. Still, I will not give you seven or twenty-nine chapters and then suddenly just stop. No matter what this story will be completed.

I don't know how many of you still read this story. It makes me sad that I didn't update more frequently when I had regular readers awaiting my updates. Still, for those of you who still want to find out what happens, I'm nearly there. I love you all and thank you for all of the reviews and kind words you have given me in the past, and hope that you will forgive me for being so slow lately.


	31. Brutus sees A Ghost

Chapter 30:

Brutus Sees A Ghost

"No." Jack said flatly. "That's out of the question. I can't be seen."  
"But I already told him you were here!" Gregory argued as the thin man dumped his coffee out. "If he sees you…"

"Look, the papers must be returned. You will do it _yourself_…and then you will forget everything you've learned about my family or me. This is NOT up for discussion." Jack retreated into the living room. Underneath the table, Zero whined.

Gregory jumped off of his chair and followed the man.

"Why are you so scared of him?" Gregory asked after a long pause. "He's a pushover. Edward and Violet pop his tires every week. His son has more control over him then he has over this whole town. You talk about him like…"

"You don't know him like I do." Jack interrupted. "You may see a sad, pathetic man…but you don't understand. He's mad…he always has been. He'll put up with what your friends do, and his family, but he won't put up with this." Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily.

"Your not going to get the papers back yourself…are you?" He asked with a sigh. Gregory raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"If Brutus sees you it won't make much of a difference…everyone thinks he's nuts anyways." Gregory said. A hopeful note had entered his voice. Jack sighed and cast a look towards Zero who had followed him and was now looking up at him curiously.

"Very well." Jack said reluctantly. "I'll get my coat."

XXX

Brutus picked up the phone angrily and dialed the Garret's telephone number. At one point he had known the number of every person that lived in Pumpkin Town. Now, as he began to grow older some of those numbers had slipped his mind. After some consideration this one returned.

As the phone rang Brutus tapped his fingers impatiently on the table and sipped at a cup of hot herbal tea. The phone rang twice, three times, four…it kept ringing. The Garrets must not have an answering machine yet. Brutus almost put the phone back in the cradle when he heard the ringing stop abruptly. He quickly placed the phone once more to his ear.

"Hello?"

_"She was a pale thing, a frail beauty whose heart was filled with sadness… _

_She walked each night amongst the briers, and the thorns allowed her passage… _

_She would sit for hours amongst the shadows, the moonlight and the bats… _

_Her only joy in living, she wondered through the pumpkin patch." _The music sounded far off, as though the phone were filtering it as a tin can would filter a child's voice. It didn't sound real. Brutus slammed the phone down as the verse finished. It was a child's voice…a little girl. Probably a prank. It was after all getting close to Halloween. Some kid had picked up the lyrics for the song that always used to play at the town hall and had found a way to broadcast it. Everyone on the phone would get an earful. Sure…that must have been it.

Brutus jumped as someone knocked on the door. He sighed as his heartbeat settled again and consulted himself, as adults tend to do when their reality has been washed away for a moment.

_Just a salesperson…probably. Sure. _

Brutus tied the strings of his shoddy robe tightly about his waist and headed for the door. A cold October wind blew, the old house groaned as he reached the knob and twisted it. The door opened and Brutus came face to face with a ghost.

The old retired cop almost leapt backwards. He stepped on something sharp and let out a cry of both fear and pain. In front of him, the tall, pale specter, looking slightly anxious, stepped forward, holding out a long, insipid hand.

The door shut, and Brutus was hoisted to his feet, feeling confused and old. A young voice broke through his trepidation.

"I told you we should have called first." The world snapped back into place and Brutus found himself looking into Gregory's face. The boy looked slightly alarmed.

"Your not having a heart attack are you, Mr. Stiltz?" He asked cautiously. Brutus looked from his face to the face of the man whom he had taken at first for a ghost. He was pale and wearing a long black coat. His shabby hair fell into his dark and concerned eyes.

"Oh my god." Brutus said, as it was the first thing he could think of. "Your alive."

XXX

All three of them were sitting in the living room. Brutus had exchanged his tea for something stronger and was currently swallowing it like it was water while staring at Jack in disbelief. The younger man had accepted Brutus's offer for coffee and was sitting uncomfortably across from him on an old battered loveseat.

"What…what the hell happened to you?" Brutus asked after a lengthy silence. Jack took a drink of his coffee and then set it down in front of him.

"What are you asking?" Jack asked as he watched Brutus from underneath the mass of black tangles hanging in his eyes. Gregory was sitting in the corner tapping on the wall and making his own entertainment as children tended to do.

"After that day…your fathers funeral…no one ever saw you again." Brutus said. "We all thought…"

"I went to live with my uncle because my mother died shortly after my father did." Jack interrupted. "Then I got sick. I'm not surprised you thought I was dead. Everyone else thought I would." He took another drink of his coffee and stared off into space for a moment.

"But you didn't…why didn't you come back when you got better?" Jack looked up. He looked tired.

"Because…he said I was still sick. Only…not…like I had been. My doctor thought I was in shock…but he didn't listen."

"He? Do you mean Alexander? What are you talking about Jack?"

"My uncle sent me to an insane asylum after I got better because he thought my illness affected my mind. I couldn't get out till I turned eighteen." Brutus watched him in shock for a moment. For a second it looked like he was about to say something…but he closed his mouth.

Gregory, who was becoming increasingly bored, (Adults NEVER just got to the point…they always had to talk things over first) now looked up.

"Alex sent you to an insane asylum?" Brutus said when he finally regained his voice. He sounded quite bitter.

"Yes…well…first he talked to a doctor…but I think he had made his own min up at that point."

"But…can all of this really prevent you from owning this town? If you come forward…I mean, they would have to give it back to you. You're the rightful owner!" Jack was shaking his head.

"Listen, Brutus. The reason I came over here was to take Mr. King's papers back to him. Gregory said you have them. Well I want them." Brutus raised his eyebrows. He looked over at Gregory who shrugged, looking sour. Brutus sighed and turned back towards Jack.

"I see. Well, I can't really keep them from you…they are after all, yours." He stood up. He left the room for a moment. Jack happened to look at Gregory, who was watching him. He looked up again when Brutus re-entered with a stack of papers under his arm. He clasped them in his large hand and handed them towards Jack.

The young man reached out for them.

"First…" Brutus said, holding them out from the young man's reach for a moment. "I'd like to know why. Why do you want to give Jeff his papers back?" Jack met Brutus's eyes.

"Because…" Jack said after a moment. "It wouldn't do you a bit of good to keep them. He's thought of everything, Brutus." Brutus raised his brow for a moment.

"I'm dead…legally. I have no proof to say otherwise. You have no proof to say he's doing anything illegal. All your doing is making him angry…and I've seen what he's done to people who make him angry. Please give them back."

Brutus handed the papers over, now in deep thought.

"You're talking about Jeff now? You know him? I've seen him over at Pumpkin House. How do you know him Jack?" Jack carefully took the papers from Brutus and looked through them. He stopped briefly at Hector's Will.

"You know you've got all of the wrong papers." Jack said casually. "Nothing here will hold up in court at all."

"Well…it would if you testified…"

"No…" Jack said. "I told you I'm dead. Even if I told them who I was they wouldn't believe me…they probably have some record in the Insane Asylum…but I don't think that would do me much good. Then I'm just insane and legally dead."

"You don't honestly think I believe that _Jeff _has the proof of your existence somewhere in his house too? He can't have it. How would he have ever gotten a hold of it?"

"How did he get a hold of my grandfather's will?" Jack said with a shrug.

"But…he…how did he know to keep them…he couldn't have known you'd come back for them. The people who sold him the house would have said that you were dead! He wouldn't have known that it wasn't legal for him to have the town."

Jack, who was still looking at the Will, rose his head.

"No…he knew from the beginning that it was illegal for him to have the town…that's why he kept the papers. Including this…as a precaution." Jack said, holding up the will.

Brutus took it from him and read over it again.

"I don't get it. If he has everything that proves that you're you…then how does this make a difference? Why would he hide this? This PROVES he's legal." Jack smiled a little.

"No, that proves he's illegally in possession of the town. Even if I'm dead."

Brutus looked down at the will again. His eyes washed over the words in a puzzled manner. Gregory, in the mean time, was working something over in his head. He looked up at Jack, who wasn't saying what he was thinking but was _hinting_ at something.

None of it made sense. Jeff couldn't have had those papers unless he had done something illegal. But legally, Jeff could have bought the town if Jack was dead. The will said that clearly. But Jeff had still kept the will…because according to Jack…it proved he wasn't legal at all…but not because Jack was still alive. But the only one who wasn't allowed to own the town was…

Gregory looked up at Jack, startled.

"He's not allowed to have the town." Gregory said, excitement welling up inside of him. "That's why he kept the Will…and how he knows you're alive and why he keeps you in your house." Both Brutus and Jack looked at Gregory. Brutus looked even more confused then he had before. Jack was watching Gregory with interest.

"What are you talking about, Greg?" Brutus asked, looking back and forth between him and Jack. Gregory stood up.

"Whatever happened to your uncle, Jack?"

XXX

Once again I apologize for the long LONG wait. I NEED to finish this story. Luckily we're close. I hope the chapter was all right. I'm a bit rusty on this fic.


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